Hello World!!!
I must confess…As a single person, it is easy to get self-centered…after all, you pay bills for one, you eat with one, you wake up with one…so it only makes sense you wouldn’t be very much concerned with anyone — except me, myself & I…
But last week, as it rained, rained, rained and rained some more here in A, even I was forced to take a look around and survey the damage…People were getting into rowboats from their windows to escape rising water in their homes, folks were stranded in their cars as they floated in the flood, people lost their businesses to the unforgiving currents and some even lost their lives…We may not have experienced floods comparing to Hurricane Katrina, but many were devastated nonetheless…
If you are anything like me, you are wondering why God allows these type of events to happen from time to time…there may be a clue in His word obviously…
He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. Matthew 5:45
So according to that verse, good and bad happen to the good and bad…somehow, that doesn’t seem quite right, does it?…it seems to me like if you are a Christian, you should have a sort of a heavenly insurance policy when bad things are happening all around you…it would seem that if you are trying to stay in His will, then He should be willing to spare you and yours when natural disasters or even unnatural disasters happen…But I am mature enough in this Christian walk to know that, yes, sometimes due to your status as a Christian, God will protect in you in ways that other people who aren’t Christian do not know about…but I also know that God often allows circumstances to happen to Christians to increase their faith in him and his sovereignty…
Yes, God is the ultimate Father…every Christian believes that…and so if we believe that, do we also believe that like earthy fathers, our Heavenly Father must punish us from time to time…Some people don’t think so, but as much as I am a “God is Love” Christian, I cannot ignore stories like Noah in the Bible…last week, some of my Facebook friends were joking about needing an ark because it was raining so much…but as I read their status updates, I began to consider that Noah and his family needed the ark, because our Father was destroying the land by water due to the evilness of the people at that time. So was God punishing Atlanta last week for some sin…was God punishing the city of New Orleans for some sin…who can say…God allowed Noah to know that was the case, and I believe that because that story was included in the Bible, we have to consider its ramifications…
For some of those who were affected by the flood last week, it may have been simply a case of God allowing things to happen to everyone…we don’t always know why, but believers in God can be assured that He will see them through…And for some, if you believe in the story of Noah, it may have been an example of God’s punishment! Only those people who were affected can say for sure…
At any rate, those of us who were spared from the storm or from other natural disasters, do have a responsibility as well..at least according to the Bible, we must apply the Golden Rule…
‘Love your neighbor as yourself. Matthew 22:39
For me that means, giving what I can when I can – that may mean opening up my wallet, giving clothing or food, offering a listening ear — and of course praying for those who were affected by the storms last week…
So to those who suffered in the storms last week, I offer my condolences, support and prayers…
Also, I hope the lyrics to this song, “I Can See Clearly Now” by Jimmy Cliff also encourage you…
I can see clearly now the rain is gone.
I can see all obstacles in my way.
Here is that rainbow I’ve been praying for.
It’s gonna be a bright (bright)
bright (bright) sunshiny day.
It’s gonna be a bright (bright)
bright (bright) sunshiny day.
It’s going to be a bright (bright)
bright (bright) sunshiny day.
Yeah, hey, it’s gonna be a bright (bright) bright (bright)
sunshiny day.
Any thoughts?
P.S. And you know that rainbows are Biblical, right? This verse appears at the end of the Noah story…