I am a California girl, so the possibility of an earthquake at any moment is a reality. Fortunately, we don't experience them very often. Still, I can't imagine an earthquake being as devastating as a tornado after seeing the images that have been shown lately. Tornadoes look evil to me. They are dark, and vicious, and they hurl things into the air, like Jeeps and entire homes. My heart goes out to the people who have lost everything due to these powerful storms.
For I am persuaded beyond doubt that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities, nor things impending and threatening nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
—Romans 8:38-39
Truthfully, very few (if any) get through life without a tornado riping through and destroying their joy at some moment during their existence on earth. We have all had something that knocks us down and threatens to rip our world apart. The devastation of rejection, the loss of a loved one, anger, disease, rebellious children, and addiction (to name a few), are threats on the peaceful existence we all strive to have.
What is your tornado? Has it left you mad, sad, disillusioned at God? It is our natural instinct to cry out to God and ask, "Why?" I have asked it recently when I found out my friend, who is a single mother, was diagnosed with lung cancer. I have asked, "why her, why now?" Sometimes there are things that just don't make sense when we look at it with our human perspective.
The Word of God has a promise in Romans 8:38-39 (above) that gives us more of a heavenly perspective. First, it gives a description of what is on God's heart for us. He will never let anything separate Him from one of His children. If you have accepted Jesus into your heart, you have the promise that you can doubt, be angry, and make mistakes, but God will guide you back to Him because of the redeeming blood of Christ. Second, this verse says that even in the toughest storms of life, He is still loving us and is wanting to protect us. He does not promise that storms will not come, but He does promise to be the anchor that keeps us from blowing away IF we are His child.
All of this takes me back to the verse that God brought to me in the moment of my greatest test and darkest day. Romans 8:28 is a promise that all things can work together for good for those who are called according to God's purpose. When the tornado of cancer ripped through my peaceful life, I stood on the promise that if I kept my eye's fixed on God, He alone could make order and peace out of the devastation. I did not know how, or when; but I knew that God could take this horrible disease and use it to His glory. I looked at it with heavenly perspective and saw that my limited earthly perspective did not make sense, but His way was part of a bigger plan. I trusted what I knew about God's love for me.
I think it is always good to remind ourselves that God is not out to play with our lives. Satan plays a big part in the tornadoes that threaten us. He is a crafty guy who wants us to not have a relationship with God. The evil principalities mentioned in our verse is (often) the force behind many of the devastating events in our life. But, God is the one that can come up beside us and use these things to strengthen us and grow us in our faith.
If a tornado ripped through your house would you rebuild? Of course you would! You would pick out all of the treasures you could out of the rubble and you would move on. And, depending on the foundation of your house, you would have a good starting point to build something better out of the ruins.
Is your foundation in Christ? Do you have a disaster plan for your life?
God is the best insurance you can have. He has an entire book of promises and instructions for when the natural disasters come, and there are no exclusions in small print.
In the midst of my storm, I heard the voice of my Father in Heaven, and he gave me peace and a hand to hold onto. I hope that for you.
Sandy
