Interpreting Hurricanes

On August 26, 2017, I wrote about the recent eclipse.

I ended the post by stating that because we can now predict when eclipses will occur that the Lord probably does not use them as signs anymore.

Instead I suggested that the Lord probably used arbitrary, unpredictable natural events such as hurricanes.

Interestingly, over the past few weeks, beginning the day after that blog post, I have had a front row seat of the flooding in Houston, Texas as a result of Hurricane Harvey.

I watched the fourth largest city in the U.S. get as much rain in four days as it typically get in a year. I watched as people lost everything they had in a flood experts said should only happen once in every 800 years. I also watched as churches gave money, their time, and their labor to help the victims of this natural disaster.

So, the question arises, “Was Hurricane Harvey some form of judgment?” The answer is I don’t know know, but I don’t think it matters whether we know or not. It doesn’t matter because what this disaster has done has had the same effect as if it was judgment.

One of the purposes of judgment is to bring correction. This disaster has done that. It has reminded people that they are not in control of their lives. It has reminded people that all the material things they spend so much time accumulating can be swept away in a moment. It has reminded people that when they realize they do not have control, they should turn to the One who does.

And because the Church is the earthly manifestation of Jesus, and the Church has mobilized to help people who have suffered as a result of Harvey, the victims of this disaster have been reminded that there is a God who loves them.

Regardless of whether Harvey was judgment or not, the lesson is the same, and the effect is the same. So, rather than speculating about whether Harvey is judgment or just bad luck, maybe we should focus on keeping hold of the lessons we have learned from it. GS

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