Earthquakes, Thunderstorms, and...Irene!

As I sit here and look out the window at the blowing rain and strong wind during Hurricane Irene, I can't help but think back to the weather that we have experienced in this area this week. Scary, as it may be, this week's weather, in my mind, is a testament to the power and might of the God that we serve. Just consider what has occurred throughout this week. On several occasions the ground has literally shaken under our feet. Thursday afternoon we saw a storm powerful enough to snap trees and as I sit here and write this article looking out the window the rain and wind is powerful enough to bend trees right outside my window! What a powerful God we serve.

As we all sit through Hurricane Irene, my thoughts can't help but wander back to the previous hurricane that I went through. In 2004, while in Pensacola, FL, I rode out Hurricane Ivan. Ivan was a much more powerful, category 3, hurricane as it came ashore in Pensacola. Thankfully, I along with all the other students at the college, were placed in safe shelters and rode out the storm safely. As the winds subsided and the rains ceased, we were allowed to leave our shelters. Walking out into the post-Ivan Pensacola was a humbling experience. The landscape of the surrounding area had been drastically changed overnight. Many people who owned homes in the area had lost their home or at least had some type of damage to the home. Most of the trees in the area had some sort of damage to them. Several buildings around campus had sustained damage during the storm.

The baffling question in all of this is how someone who experiences these events cannot respect or refuses to fear an Almighty and Omnipotent God. Even more baffling are the one's who choose to deny that God even exists! God does not send storms into our lives to cause us to be afraid of Him, but to display His power and His might so that we may have a reverential respect and awe for His power. Proverbs 9:10 states "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding."It should be a comfort and encouragement for us to know that the God we serve has the power to control the wind, the rain, and even the ground that we walk on every single day!

While these events can be scary and devastating events for thousands, even millions, of people including those of us reading and writing this, we as Christians can place our trust in God, the One who is in control of it all. I think the prophet Isaiah states it best in chapter twenty three and verse six of his book. Isaiah 23:6 "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee." Stay safe as you ride out Hurricane Irene, but as you see the power of the wind and rain consider the Powerful Source of the weather that we are experiencing. Praying for safety for all being affected by the storm!