Praise You in This Storm

This has been a devastating week for my home, and community.  On Friday, October 7th we started seeing the early rain bands of Hurricane Matthew.  This rain and wind continued until Saturday night.  All in all, we received around 15 inches of rain at my house, and some areas around us received more.  Dams have give way, and many of the communities in my county are underwater.  Many have been without power for almost a week now.  Many of our roads are closed due to flooding, and some have even been washed away.  And even more sadly, there have been some in my community to lose their lives as a result of this storm.

With all of this loss, I know many people would ask the question of why these things happen?  Why does God allow things of this nature to occur?  Let me give you my humble opinion to these questions.

#1 - My God is always in control.
It is not my place to question why things happen in this world.  I serve a wonderful loving God who has a perfect will, and a perfect purpose for all things.  And, it is not my place to understand until he is ready for me to understand.  He knows everything in my future, and has a reason for the here and now.  Maybe, just maybe, what I go through now is preparing me for what may come in the future.  And because of this moment, I will be prepare for what He needs me to do when that time comes.

Isaiah 55:8-9
"For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” declares 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."

#2 - We seek the Lord through humility.

Do we really live our lives with the true understanding of who our Lord truly is?  God is not a buddy, nor a relative we only speak of during certain occasions.  He is our Lord, and our Creator.  Regardless of how we may see Him, He is the Almighty.  It is only by His grace that we have the right to His forgiveness, the right to pray to Him, and the right to be His children.  When we come to Him, it should be done humbly, without pride.  I believe that sometimes God allows things to happen to get our attention.  Maybe He is trying to show us how much we really need the peace and comfort that only He can give.  We when become proud and comfortable, we lose sight on our need for our Savior.

2 Corinthians 12:9-10

"And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong."

#3 - A chance to witness
One thing I have been amazed of in this time of struggles, is the number of Christians I see reaching out to those in need.  I have seen where many are volunteering to help with damage to homes, offering hot showers and meals to those without power, and others taking their own boats into flooded areas to rescue those that were stranded.  As Christians, we have to understand that our actions are our greatest witness.  Many people can quote scriptures at the drop of a hat, but the real question is, can you show them in your life?  As we said when I was growing up, you can talk the talk, but can you walk the walk?  Times like these give us a real chance to show the love of God that lives inside of us.  Are we taking the chance to share that with those around us?

James 1:22

"But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves"

I choose to praise God for this storm that we are living through.  Because I know, that even in the midst of struggle and loss, my God is right there beside me.  He never left my side.  And I know that He has a perfect purpose.  I choose to look for the opportunities He has provided me, instead of looking at all the bad that is around.  I choose to trust in the one who knows what my future holds, and who has ordained all of my steps.  What do you choose?

Thanks for reading, and I pray that God will bless you all!