With the combination of the second Saturday on our Lent Journey, and the tragic storms pounding the Mid-West part of America and the South; I can't stop thinking about how many people called out to God to stop the storm and just got obliterated.
I've seen so much damage reporting on the news, and I've seen so many interviews of people saying things like, "It could have been worse." Or one man I heard said, "God spared us" as he stood in the middle of a debris field.
I guess I'm trying to understand the logic, but even though a life was spared, the climb out of destruction is ever present. I understand the life piece, but why wouldn't God stop it? Why would He allow the storms to plow through these neighborhoods?
It's easy to see the physical, but all of us could relate to other metaphorical parts of life. Certainly there are times you wonder Why God doesn't allow the storms to stop like He did in the Bible, right?
As I meditate on it today, I wonder if we're just asking the wrong questions all together. It's not God's job to step into the world and make it heaven on earth with no pain. No. The Bible certainly is a book full of pain. In fact, I don't think there's 1 story in the Bible where a character is free from pain and tragedy because of his walk with God.
So it might be concluded that every person who walks on the earth has to endure some level of pain in the "storm."
Maybe we need to re-evaluate the perception we have of God, and remember the intent of reconciliation of all things unto Himself. (Colossians 1:20)
The Faith in God can't be likened to a Genie in the Bottle sort of experience, but rather; it's the hope all things will get better SOMEDAY that allows us to keep going.
The strength I see in the people from the Mid-West is inspiring. Many are saying things like "We'll rebuild," "We'll make it through this," and I've watched as whole communities come out to help their neighbors. It's AWESOME!!!
Maybe that's the real lesson in all this. The Storm doesn't calm so we can posture ourselves in a way that lives practical hope, and brings neighbors together. Isn't that what Jesus called us to do anyway? (Matthew 22:37-40)
My heart goes out to all the people enduring this storm season. With each news real, I wish there was something we could do to prevent the hardship they're facing. But to the spiritual question, I wonder...
What do you think?
Why doesn't God calm the storm?
