Why Is This Happening God?
On March 2, 2012, the small town of Henryville, Indiana was devastated by an EF-4 tornado. There was not one person of the 2,000 residents unaffected in some way. Many homes, businesses, and vehicles were destroyed or damaged beyond repair. Deaths in Henryville contributed to the 13 Hoosier fatalities by several tornados that evening.
Pastor Carl Lamb, Spencer Lamb, and I arrived in Henryville six hours following the massive twister, and, the following morning, we were assessing the damage to adequately prepare a response for Convoy of Hope. As we partnered with Henryville Community Church (HCC) and Pastor Rich (pictured above with Spencer Lamb), volunteers and victims alike poured into the church, all looking for direction. Volunteers were often victims themselves. A deacon of the church came to volunteer. I remember his name well, because it was also Steven Smith. After offering to volunteer, I asked him if he was affected by the tornado. He responded that his home was destroyed, but said, "Let's take care of everyone else first." There was a man about 19 years of age on crutches that operated the registration table. There was a middle-age woman with one arm in a sling who was ladling free soup for everyone. There was no I.D. check, background check, or application process like those required for government relief. Everyone could eat, receive practical guidance, and most importantly witness the love of Christ in action.
Once the church was operational, I was sent out by Pastor Carl into the community to partner those in need with the church. These moments of connecting with individual victims and volunteers were eye-opening. Their stories of survival and loss, of joy or terror, of faith or fear cause reflection on our own values.
I have assisted in multiple disaster relief efforts and encounter many who do not understand why God would let this happen to them. "If God cared," they would ask, "then why would He do this?" Natural disasters are often be a time for people to draw much closer to or much further from God. When we fail to understand why God caused or allowed the natural disaster, we want to know, "Who is God really?"
1 Samuel 13 describes a man who misunderstands God and when tested, he falls further from God. King Saul and his son, Jonathan, commanded an army of 3,000 men of Israel. After Jonathan's troops defeated a garrison of Philistines, the Philistines responded by sending 30,000 chariots, 6,000 horsemen, and soldiers "like the sand which is on the seashore in abundance" (13:5, NASB). To make matters worse for the Israelites, only King Saul and Jonathan had weapons because "No blacksmith could be found in all the land of Israel" (13:19, NASB).
Israel's confidence should have been that God would lead them to victory, but their soldiers were trembling and hid in caves, cliffs, cellars, and pits. Also, Israel's prophet, Samuel, was delayed in meeting the army; causing the army to scatter (fearing the that the Lord was not with them). Desperate to prevent further desertion, King Saul offered the burnt offering and the peace offerings himself. This was a big mistake. He had disobeyed God's laws in order to do what he thought was best. He did not trust God's ways above his own. Samuel prophesied, "You have acted foolishly! You have not kept the commandment of the LORD your God, which He commanded you, for the LORD would now have established your kingdom over Israel forever. But now your kingdom shall not endure. The LORD has sought out for Himself a man after His own heart, and the LORD has appointed him as ruler over His people, because you have not kept what the LORD commanded you" (13:13-14, NASB). As you probably know, the man Samuel was referring to, as having a heart after God's own, was David. God wanted a king for Israel who would trust in Him no matter the consequences or difficulties. The kind of king who would stand up alone against a Philistine giant and say, "This day the LORD will hand you over to me, and I will strike you and remove your head from you. Then I will give the dead bodies of the army of the Philistines this day to the birds of the sky and the wild animals of the earth, so that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel" (17:46, NASB).
Some people would ask why God barraged the Israelites with the Philistines in the first place. They wonder why He does not simply destroy Israel's enemies for them like he did to the Egyptians (Exodus 14:26-28). Some believers are unable to explain why God would give commands like, "Put to death both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey" (1 Samuel 15:3, NASB). So too, people wonder why God would allow disasters in their own lives; be they natural or man-made.
How clearly the answer is presented in the Bible and yet is over-looked. And no wonder! With all of the battles, miracles, and prophecies, it can be easy to over look such a simple phrase as, "Know that I am the Lord." This phrase is not presented as a command, but as a reason. For example, Ezekiel 6 only has fourteen verses, but Ezekiel records five times that knowing or remembering the Lord is the reason for Israel's trials:
1 And the word of the Lord came to me saying, 2 “Son of man, set your face toward the mountains of Israel, and prophesy against them 3 and say, ‘Mountains of Israel, listen to the word of the Lord God! Thus says the Lord God to the mountains, the hills, the ravines and the valleys: “Behold, I Myself am going to bring a sword on you, and I will destroy your high places. 4 So your altars will become desolate and your incense altars will be smashed; and I will make your slain fall in front of your idols. 5 I will also lay the dead bodies of the sons of Israel in front of their idols; and I will scatter your bones around your altars. 6 In all your dwellings, cities will become waste and the high places will be desolate, that your altars may become waste and desolate, your idols may be broken and brought to an end, your incense altars may be cut down, and your works may be blotted out. 7 The slain will fall among you, and you will know that I am the Lord. 8 “However, I will leave a remnant, for you will have those who escaped the sword among the nations when you are scattered among the countries. 9 Then those of you who escape will remember Me among the nations to which they will be carried captive, how I have been hurt by their adulterous hearts which turned away from Me, and by their eyes which played the harlot after their idols; and they will loathe themselves in their own sight for the evils which they have committed, for all their abominations. 10 Then they will know that I am the Lord; I have not said in vain that I would inflict this disaster on them.”’ 11 “Thus says the Lord God, ‘Clap your hand, stamp your foot and say, “Alas, because of all the evil abominations of the house of Israel, which will fall by sword, famine and plague! 12 He who is far off will die by the plague, and he who is near will fall by the sword, and he who remains and is besieged will die by the famine. Thus will I spend My wrath on them. 13 Then you will know that I am the Lord, when their slain are among their idols around their altars, on every high hill, on all the tops of the mountains, under every green tree and under every leafy oak—the places where they offered soothing aroma to all their idols. 14 So throughout all their habitations I will stretch out My hand against them and make the land more desolate and waste than the wilderness toward Diblah; thus they will know that I am the Lord.”’”
In fact, Ezekiel records 70 times the reason why God causes or allows events to happen to the Israelites. In every instance, it is the same reason, to know that He is Lord. Should that provide comfort to believers when they are diagnosed with cancer, suffer persecution, or lose everything in a tornado? Well, it should actually. Of course, you may wonder how God will use losses in your life for His glory, but our thought processes have to begin with trusting that everything we endure will help us to know that He is Lord if we live in earnest obedience to Him.
Jennifer (pictured in the red coat) was an elderly lady living by herself in Henryville. Fortunately, she was not in her home when the roof was violently torn off by the tornado. When I met her the next day she told me that she had two refrigerators full of food that would go to waste since the electricity was off. All she could see was loss and grief. I encouraged her to donate her food to the church, and she agreed. In the days to come many people who had no food and no income would be sitting down inside HCC eating free meals and seeing the love of God's people as a result of Jennifer's obedience and the obedience of others like her.
The Sunday following the tornado, the church seats were packed out and people were standing along the walls. Bibles were distributed for free and the church ran out. In the months to come, millions of dollars worth of money and resources would be funneled through HCC to help restore the town.
Pastor Rich devoted all of his time to the people of Henryville. Jennifer gave all her food when she felt like she had nothing left. Believers set aside their excuses as victims and put on their work gloves to share the Gospel to those in need. All this they did so that the people of Henryville might know that God is the Lord.
An amazing glimpse into our future is that although the Bible clearly pronounces that God wants us to know that He is Lord, there are a few times when God's ultimate plan is revealed. If we will know that He is Lord (by trusting Him in everything), then we will one day know the Lord. Jesus said, "This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent" (John 17:3, NASB). It has been taught that knowing God is something we receive upon salvation, but that ignores the rest of the verse. Eternal life is not something we experience now, but upon our resurrection from the dead (Revelation 20:11-13). Hosea wrote, "I will betroth you to Me forever; yes, I will betroth you to Me in righteousness and in justice, in favor and in compassion; and I will betroth you to Me in faithfulness. Then you will know the LORD" (Hosea 2:19-20, NASB). True believers will experience the fulfillment of this at the marriage of the Lamb (Revelation 19:7-9).
To know the Lord personally, intimately, and spiritually for eternity is an overwhelming promise. But for those who are betrothed to God to Him, they can have that assurance if they will accept that God is the Lord in every trial of life!
17 June 2017
