Disasters and challenges are part of His master plan.
Living Faith by James M. Dakis
Disasters are all around us.
The American Red Cross responds to over 60,000 disasters every year. This translates to a call to action roughly every eight minutes somewhere in the United States alone! I can personally say as a Disaster Spiritual Care chaplain for the organization that this keeps us busy.
Disasters will come. How we handle them shapes whether or not we control them, or they control us.
Arguments can be made as to what brings about natural disasters and studies have indicated that there are more occurring now than in the past. Just how accurate this is can be debated, as record keeping has gotten better recently. However, philosophers will debate till the end of time just why we are seeing more catastrophic events, be they naturally occurring or man-made. Some will blame climate change, population increase, the moral decay of society, God’s wrath, or some combination of the above.
Natural disasters are in the news constantly and with good reason. Ninety-one percent of people say that they have lived through a disaster and ninety-two percent say that they have been negatively impacted by one. Essentially, this means that roughly 305 million Americans have been negatively impacted by natural disasters, even if some of them did not experience them personally.
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:8–9 KJV)
When I addressed the issue of why life isn’t always fair in my article “Why Is Life Unfair?” it shed some light on why an all-knowing, all-powerful God would allow some of the things that happened in life to transpire. Why did my child die? Why didn’t I get the job? Why is my mother suffering with cancer?…
Today we are examining this on a much larger, even global scale; why does God allow massive suffering and destruction?
If God can see it, why doesn’t He stop it?
“Great is our Lord, and of great power: his understanding is infinite.” (Psalm 147:5 KJV)
This is a natural and perfectly reasonable question. Think about it. If you are a parent and you see harm coming toward your child, you act immediately. Better yet, you probably would take action to avoid it in the first place. How many of us have even stopped a total stranger’s child from running out into the street, warned someone of a low-hanging sharp corner, or advised someone of a driving hazard before they set out the door? If God can see all and is a loving God, (and He is both), why does He allow such things?
The answer is not necessarily cut and dry.
We can search the Scripture for many times when God allowed difficulties and even horrible things to happen. In fact, in my daily Bible reading, I just started reading the book of Job again this morning. If any one person in the Bible had his life turned upside down all in one fell swoop, it was Job. We don’t know a lot about this man before the events of his life except that he had ten children, a wife, and was very wealthy. Scripture tells us that he was a godly man, and all of these things give us the perfect setup for Satan to say, “Let me at him!”
“Let us not pray to be sheltered from dangers but to be fearless when facing them.” Rabindranath Tagore
Just look at what Job did when Satan came and destroyed his farm, his flocks, and even his family.
“Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped, And said, Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD. In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly.” (Job 1:20–22 KJV Emphasis mine)
Whose fault is it?
There is also a school of thought that when something bad happens, someone, perhaps an entire group of people, must be at fault. Granted, sometimes this is the case. Such it was with the flood in Genesis. Genesis 6:5–7 spells this out clearly, saying that man had become so evil that God was grieved and spared only Noah and his family as a result. This, however, is not a blanket statement saying that every time there is a disaster that the people who are affected have sinned or are evil. In fact, Paul tells us something quite different in his epistle to the Romans. If anyone knew suffering, it is the man who was beaten, shipwrecked and left for dead.
“For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.” (Romans 8:18 KJV)
Still not answering the “Whose fault is it?” question, the Bible gives us more of an answer of “Yes, it will happen. It is part of following Christ. Consider it an honor and a price that you pay.”
“For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake;” (Philippians 1:29 KJV)
One thing to bear in mind is that when we look at our own lives, we are examining a very miniscule part of a much larger puzzle.
In the Bible study series, The Story, Randy Frazee, author, teacher, and pastor, not only examines the story of the family history of Jesus from Adam up until His birth but also examines how there is an “upper story” and a “lower story” going on at the same time. Essentially, what each of us experiences in life, be it good or bad, major or insignificant, is part of God’s “upper story”, or big picture. It is here that we may experience a disaster that shapes our lives and the lives of those around us in ways that we may not realize in the moment. The impact may have implications that are far-reaching beyond the time and place where the event occurs. To God, however, it all fits!
In that case, perhaps there is no fault at all.
We are told countless times in the Bible to trust in God’s divine providence. He tells us that His ways are not the same as ours and that His will and plan is perfect. Like the small child who will not always understand the decisions of his parent, who will not be able to comprehend adult reasoning, let us faithfully lean on His loving and caring bosom to lead us through any disaster that comes our way.
The writings of Living Faith by James M. Dakis are intended to be uplifting and inspirational devotional material for believers and those with questions about the Christian faith. I encourage and invite comments by anyone with constructive things to say or ask. I also invite you to like and subscribe so that you do not miss any future content.
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