Psalm 60:3-4
You have shown Your people hard things; You have made us drink the wine of confusion. You have given a banner to those who fear You, That it may be displayed because of the truth. Selah
Last week, an F2 tornado, nearly ½ mile wide, went through my home community in Northwest Kansas. Thankfully, no one was hurt, but the loss was still great. Whole farms were destroyed. Equipment ruined. Homes annihilated. For most, the damage threatens to choke their livelihood. It is impossible to feed cows and plow fields without the necessary tractors and implements.
It’s typical human nature to ask why these things happen; but it’s good to remember Elihu’s words in Job 37:
It’s typical human nature to ask why these things happen; but it’s good to remember Elihu’s words in Job 37:
From its chamber comes the whirlwind,and cold from the scattering winds. By the breath of God ice is given,and the broad waters are frozen fast. He loads the thick cloud with moisture;the clouds scatter his lightning. They turn around and around by his guidance,to accomplish all that he commands them on the face of the habitable world. Whether for correction or for his land or for love, he causes it to happen.
Bottom line: God is sovereign…even over the hard things. The definition of a sovereign God demands it -limited sovereignty is not sovereignty at all. In our human finiteness, we cannot understand all the ways of God. We cannot understand how He can be good and allow tragedy. May I submit we do not really know the true meaning of good? As with all of God’s attributes, our minds can only skim the surface of His goodness. But His Word declares He is good. In the storms of life, we must trust in His goodness and sovereignty equally and fully even when we don’t understand. As Al Mohler quoted Charles Spurgeon: “When we cannot trace God's hand, we must simply trust His heart.”
So back to Northwest Kansas… I said it is impossible to feed cows and plow fields without the necessary tractors and implements. It is impossible for MAN -but not for a sovereign, good God.
The little community of Bird City and McDonald is extremely supportive. Neighbors used their own tractors and equipment to farm my dad’s fields when my parents had to be in Denver, for nearly a month after my older brother was severely burned. So when Mom called to tell me the damage, I never doubted that the families who experienced the loss most directly would be helped. What I didn’t count on was people coming from all over Kansas (and probably other states) to assist in any way they could to all who had been affected.
One of my uncle’s fields needed to be cleared of debris so the crops could grow. He and my cousins were out picking it all up by hand, prepared to be there for hours. The wind was blowing 40 mph against them, so they couldn’t really hear. Finally at one point, my cousin turned around, and there were at least thirty people behind them helping pick up the debris. Most, if not all, they didn’t even know and some had come as far as 70 miles away.
God has used the people in that corner of Kansas to declare His goodness. He will make His glory known. At least two of the families affected by the tornado are families who fear the Lord. He has shown His people hard things. I don't know all of His purposes in this, but it is my prayer that He uses this time as a banner, "that it may be displayed because of the truth."
So back to Northwest Kansas… I said it is impossible to feed cows and plow fields without the necessary tractors and implements. It is impossible for MAN -but not for a sovereign, good God.
The little community of Bird City and McDonald is extremely supportive. Neighbors used their own tractors and equipment to farm my dad’s fields when my parents had to be in Denver, for nearly a month after my older brother was severely burned. So when Mom called to tell me the damage, I never doubted that the families who experienced the loss most directly would be helped. What I didn’t count on was people coming from all over Kansas (and probably other states) to assist in any way they could to all who had been affected.
One of my uncle’s fields needed to be cleared of debris so the crops could grow. He and my cousins were out picking it all up by hand, prepared to be there for hours. The wind was blowing 40 mph against them, so they couldn’t really hear. Finally at one point, my cousin turned around, and there were at least thirty people behind them helping pick up the debris. Most, if not all, they didn’t even know and some had come as far as 70 miles away.
God has used the people in that corner of Kansas to declare His goodness. He will make His glory known. At least two of the families affected by the tornado are families who fear the Lord. He has shown His people hard things. I don't know all of His purposes in this, but it is my prayer that He uses this time as a banner, "that it may be displayed because of the truth."
1 comment:
Keep up the good work.
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