“Does disaster come to a city unless the Lord has planned it?” (Amos 3:6 NIV)
And here we are, right up on one of those uncomfortable scriptures again. Does disaster come by God’s plan? This text will mess up our “God is good and He loves everybody too much to hurt them” modern interpretation of scripture. If God’s in charge, how does disaster get past His holy desk and into our world? How does a good God plan for bad circumstances? Even as I write this, a Cat 4 hurricane is barreling toward New Orleans and thirteen families are trying to figure out how to live without their loved ones after a suicide bombing on the other side of the world. Yet another country has fallen into the hands of evil leaders and those that could have intervened did not. How can we make peace with all this ugly being a part of God’s plan?
Friends, when the world stops making sense we must look past today. It hurts, it’s hard, but we must think upon eternity. I learned long ago that God will allow my body to suffer for the sake of my soul. He is far more concerned about our salvation than our comfort. Today we see despair, we feel pain and even suffering but what we struggle to perceive is the Kingdom things that God is accomplishing in people’s souls. Such work rarely makes headlines. It’s not flashy enough to sell ad space, but it is the priority of heaven. God does not squander suffering, He leverages it. Well-fed and thoroughly entertained people are nearly impossible to persuade. Souls in crisis, however, grasp for God and find Him within reach, where He has always been. Only they hadn’t noticed before the bottom fell out. They had no conception of their need for Him.
We can be gutted by the events around our globe (and reasonably so) or we can be glad that God wakes us up to our need of Him. He does not allow us to pass mindlessly into eternity, spiritually asleep. No, He wakes us up for our own sake. Sometimes the only thing that will drag us from our self-absorbed stupor is pain. Hurting people are suddenly available to God; they are trying to make sense of their situation. And sin is the only reasonable explanation for the sorry state of our world systems. Sin requires a Savior and some of us can only rightly perceive His salvation offer against a backdrop of ugly.
Friend, this world is passing away, heaving under the weight of trespass. God in His mercy has provided a way out from under our own desperate wickedness. Pray today that hurting people would choose salvation. Pray that they would see the good of God gleaming through the dark night of consequence. Pray that they would accept Jesus and secure their eternity, even as they are in the last throes of death. We may suffer and expire here, but surrendered souls will live on forever in Jesus Christ.
“Because he loves Me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him; I will protect him, for He acknowledges my name. He will call on Me and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him. With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation.” (Psalm 91:14-16 NIV)
Calling on God amidst earthly trouble does not sidestep our affliction, but it does reassure us of God’s companionship amidst it. He is near and His promises are eternal; deliverance and honor, satisfaction and long life in His forever home.
When trouble bursts through your door, remember eternity. Remember that God is far more concerned with your soul than your frame. Strive to see the world as He sees it: a window opportunity for man to know Him.
“I am greatly encouraged; in all our troubles my joy knows no bounds.” (2 Corinthians 7:4 NIV)
Lord, we don’t like trouble. It’s uncomfortable and frightening. Yet today we see it as a tool in Your hands, a way to help us see our need. When trouble arrives, remind us to look up. Let the promises of eternity sustain us through the worst of times. Let Your truth outshine the darkness, be made known even in the most dire of circumstances. Heaven seems sweeter all the time, Lord. Let us bring as many souls along as possible. Amen.