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Hurricanes – Katrina, Rita…

…who is responsible? Whom can we blame? On whom can we pour out our anger? Is God responsible for all these hurricanes? Really?

Even in the midst of hurt and fear, we need to examine what the Bible says & ensure we maintain a Biblical worldview of the world around us. For you, do catastrophic natural disasters raise doubts as to the sovereignty of God and the love of God?

We need to remember two things: firstly, we are to view everything from a biblical worldview, and secondly, the Word of God contains the answer to everything that we face in life.

So what does the Bible say about hurricanes?

1. The creation account is recorded in Genesis 1:1-31. After each 24 hour day of creation, ‘God saw that it was good’ v10, 12, 18, 21, 25, 31. That is, what God made, created, creation: was perfect and custom designed for good use. God created the wind and the sea perfectly. He custom designed them for good.

2. The creation record continues. In Genesis 2 God set mankind in the Garden of Eden and gave humanity free will. That is, He did not design us to be obedient robots, programmed to do exactly what He says. He gave us free will. In other words, He gave us the ability to make choices, which include being able to choose right or wrong. Obviously there are consequences to all our choices. God tells us this up front. He gave us advanced warning of the consequences of our rebellion and disrespect of Him: Genesis 2:17. He told us in advance – if we chose to rebel, we would bring brutal & harsh problems on ourselves.

3. Sure enough, we, humanity chose to do our own thing and we rebelled and disobeyed Him: Genesis 3:1-13. We chose to use our free will to choose evil.

4. We want freedom of choice, but we don’t want the consequences that hurt us. But God is kind and loving: He warned us before hand. What are the consequences of our insulting the Lord? Genesis 3:14-19 tells us that because of our disobedience, sin, not only did we lose our perfection, but so did the rest of creation.

v17 dirt that was once perfectly designed to grow crops was now cursed.

v18 plants that were once perfectly designed for food, now grew thorns and thistles. Creation that was originally custom designed for good, was cursed because of our sin. All of a sudden, the sea that was designed for good now produced tsunamis. Dirt that was designed for good, now produced earthquakes. Wind that was designed for good, now produced hurricanes, tornadoes, droughts from hot winds.

We want the freedom of choice, free will, but not the consequences of our choices that hurt us. So in our fear and anger, we want to blame someone – and that someone is not going to be me as an individual in my personal one on one disrespect of God! But, God continues to be gracious in the midst of our stubbornness. He provides gracious solutions.

According to Romans 8:18-24, one day, individuals who have trusted Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior, will receive a new body & a new home/heaven, where perfection will be the norm again. People and the environment will be made perfect again.

But, according to Romans 8:18-22, not only will humanity be made perfect again, so will all of creation. There will be a new heaven and a new earth. People who really love Jesus Christ, together with the rest of creation will be fully redeemed and we will know only our original state – perfection, custom designed for good.

1. Hurricanes are the result of our choice to sin, not the result of an unloving God. They are the consequences of our rebellion towards God’s will. As a loving God, He loved us so much He created us perfectly, set us in a perfect home, and gave us free will. We chose to bring disaster on ourselves. It was not God’s choice. He offered us perfection & we rejected it & still do.

2. One day when all of creation is redeemed, there will no longer be any more natural disasters. This mutated & butchered world will not last forever.

3. We follow the One and only true God Who is fully capable of bringing good out of disaster & destruction. He can heal your broken heart, bring hope when you feel hopeless, put your life back together when you feel you are in a thousand pieces. Will you personally talk to the Lord Jesus Christ and ask Him to make you part of His family and to put your life back together? Will you tell Him, that you will trust Him?

4. The issue of whether or not this is Christ punishing us, like He did Sodom & Gomorrah, we cannot say dogmatically. However, if it is punishment, remember that we serve a just and fair God who is patient, waiting for people to stop their rebellion and turn toward Himself. Therefore, if this is Jesus Christ punishing us, it is not harsh, unfair, or unloving – He is incapable of being unjust & unfair.

5. Talk to the Lord Jesus Christ and ask Him that many individuals would accept Him as their Savior and they would become part of His family, and experience what can never be taken away – a permanent home in heaven, and a Savior that works in all situations for the good of those individuals who love Him.

6. Remember that all of creation groans Romans 8:22, also waiting for Christ’s return, so it too can be delivered from its own chaos. Just like we too cannot wait to get away of this mess v23-25. In the mean while, Jesus Christ helps us, cares for us, puts our lives back together v26-28. He brings good out of our tragedy, pain and loss.

Is life tough? Yes! Romans 8:23-24, but stop being angry and scared. You don’t have to go it alone. You have Someone Who loves you and will take care of you, and one day will take you out of all this mess and take you home forever – all because you have surrendered your life to Him, and asked Him, and trusted Him to take care of you. He will. He has promised – if you ask Him, He’ll make you His family.