Is This Disaster Really Brought by God?

We have had more billion dollar disaster storms in the last several years than ever before, one right after another. If it isn't hurricanes, its tornados, if it isn't tornados, its flooding, and if it isn't flooding it's earthquakes,  and on on and on.  More lives have been lost so far this this year to tornados than all of 2010. In fact 10 times as many. So whats going on? 

Often when these kinds of disasters happen you will hear the groom and doom preachers come out of the wood work with the idea that this is the judgement of God against a community.  Then most of the Christians I know dismiss this kind of thinking as foolish and uninformed.  God doesn't work like that, He is a God of restoration, and love, and He isn't into any form of judgment since the cross. 

Well, I am not so sure. Of course if you have lost loved ones, and lost your home in a disaster you're not open to hearing such things, but does God have a hand in these disasters? We do know that nature is groaning for the the coming of the Lord to earth again, and can be acting upon a last days prediction that there will be signs in heaven and earth as stated in Romans 8:22-23

22For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now.  23And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.

Amos 4 tells us repeatedly that God was trying to get the attention of the people of Israel. Repeatedly disaster upon disaster He brought against them without any response. It says starting in verse 6, that He would bring famine, with hold rain, water would be lacking, there would be diseases to the crops, diseases to humans, and there would be disasters like Sodom and Gomorrah, and yet all of these attention getting incidents did not bring the people back to God. In fact, God said in Amos 4:12 that He would bring a final disaster to Israel and gave them this message in Amos 4:12

¹²“Therefore thus I will do to you, O Israel; because I will do this to you, prepare to meet your God, O Israel!”   

There are many disaster events in the scriptures, where God does intervene for His purposes and His plan. So does God bring about disaster?  Here is the answer most of you may not like to hear, but yes.  Christian teachers today have invented a God who stays out of the crisis business, and all storms are just a result of nature, or the Devil. However, if you push the nature  cause far enough, nature is ultimately controlled by the all powerful God, and no where in scripture does Jesus rebuke Satan for controlling the weather. 

If God allows weather to take it course, it is because He is trying like to get our attention , like in the days of Amos. There is coming a day, that all people will have to face God, face to face. There will be no texting, emails, or internet home pages to consult or communicate with, it is a face to face encounter with the living God. These disasters are the early warning signals that Jesus said would happen, it is the labor pains of the birth of something new here on earth, and most people are not ready.  Its much like what a funeral reminds us of, that death is imminent and no one alive will escape it. A disaster is also a reminder that life is more than things, and in a moments notice everything can be wiped and we are left with nothing. We came into this world with nothing, and we leave it the same way.  What we do for God, and His kingdom while on earth will be what will last, it's what Jesus said in Matthew 6:19-20

19“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal,  20but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. When disaster happens, remember God is trying to get our attention. "Prepare to meet your God."   Keeping it honest and truthful...K

Comments

[Ron Sawtell]

Amen!!