Natural Disaster - Making Scripture Relevant
Heavy winds, crashing rocks, earthquakes and fire do not sound like a recipe for an enjoyable evening. Nor do any of the other natural disasters such as hurricanes, floods, tornadoes, or tsunamis. Each are a force to be reckoned with carrying with them devastating damage, injury and loss.
Today, we have the ability to be warned and prepare a bit by boarding up a house or sheltering on higher ground. Technology helps to limit loss of life but there is nothing we can do to stop or slow down the damage any one of these disasters can cause. When they occur, people cry out to God and ask God why it had to happen. They question where God is in the disaster, get angry and lose faith.
It’s a tough thing to grasp. We want to know why God would allow a bad thing to happen and if he is the creator of all things, one should believe God created these natural disasters too, right? I think it’s one of the top questions people want to ask when they meet God in person. So, it’s when these types of questions come up, I turn to scripture to help me find some way to make sense.
In the passage from 1Kings 19:9a,11-13a, Elijah didn’t get any warning. Instead, he stood on the mountain and endured heavy winds, crashing rocks, earthquakes and fire before feeling God’s presence. Since I wasn’t there, I can’t know if these things happened consecutively, one after the other, or simultaneously, or over a series of a few days. However it happened, Elijah had to be a bit afraid, wondering if he was going to get through the obstacles of the weather and where God was in the mess.
Part of me, wants to believe the natural disasters in the scripture are metaphors for experiences Elijah endured before he knew God. Such as he had been tossed around by heavy winds, not knowing which way to go in his life before hearing God’s call. When he was acting on his own, his attempts would crash and burn, leaving him beat up and bruised. Perhaps before choosing God, people thought he was untrustworthy and afraid he would shake them down for all they had. Then he heard God call him. Silly perhaps but plausible.
Despite all the devastation though, the final verse of the passage is the mic-drop moment for me. Elijah hears a tiny whispering sound, hides his face against the elements and stands strong. It is that moment when he knows God is there and Elijah trusts God will follow through on his promises. This is that moment in a movie where the cavalry arrives and hope is renewed; despite the loss, we will persevere.
I was in New Orleans, Louisiana ten days before Hurricane Katrina wiped the city out. My family took a riverboat from the Riverwalk to the Zoo. When we heard the news and saw the footage of the city we had just visited, it was a bit frightening. Friends of mine who live in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama shared firsthand accounts of the destruction. However, they also shared stories of miracles. They saw God in their neighbor’s generosity, in the eyes of each volunteer who came from out of state to help rebuild, and in the selfless acts of first responder’s.
Like me, my friends have faith built on solid ground. Faith like Elijah. When the trouble came, they were not afraid. And when they heard God whisper, they went wherever God needed them. It’s been 15 years and my friends say you can still see damage Hurricane Katrina left behind. The families and friends of the 1,833 who died still carry the legacy of their loved ones with them. Despite the suffering, they have emerged and stand tall.
The phrase, ‘what doesn’t kill us makes us stronger’ comes to mind when I think about the millions of people affected by the hurricane. They endured the storm and came back. Somehow among the rubble, they were able to find hope. God remained, despite the mess, he was there all along.
