My friend, may I ask you a question? Why does God permit such catastrophe for surely it is his hand that guides the wind, drives the rain and uplifts the ocean? Would a merciful God, One who tells us that He loves us and has mercy upon us, do such a thing?
My friend, life’s a story, welcome to This Passing Day. I’m M. Clifford Brunner?
A nearly unprecedented storm has come crashing upon the shores of our country. Hurricane Laura, intent upon crushing, smashing and upturning a city with winds of over 150 miles an hour is ravaging Louisiana as I write. Can any good be found in this storm?
Why does God permit such catastrophe for surely it is his hand that guides the wind, drives the rain and uplifts the ocean? Would a merciful God, One who tells us that He loves us and has mercy upon us, do such a thing? If all things work together for good for those who love God, then this storm must be more than a catastrophe; it must also be an opportunity. For God does nothing in vain and all things have purpose in His sight.
Like a magnificent storm, God sometimes visits his children with terrible sickness and pain. Sometimes it comes upon us without warning. What appeared to be but a minor pain or ache can suddenly blossom into a raging hurt. And, sometimes, we can see the storm brewing in the distance, hoping against hope that it will somehow avert its course. Why does God allow such raging illnesses to crash into our lives sometimes? Can there be an opportunity in this sickness that we need to look for?
When we see opportunity in the storm, an illness or disease can often become an open door to discovery, even achievement. Florence Nightingale, too ill to move from her bed, reorganized the hospitals of England. Semi-paralyzed and under the constant menace of apoplexy, Pasteur was tireless in his attack on disease. During the greater part of his life, American historian Francis Parkman suffered so acutely that he could not work for more than five minutes as a time. His eyesight was so wretched that he could scrawl only a few gigantic words on a manuscript, yet he contrived to write twenty magnificent volumes of history. (Tim Hansel, You Gotta Keep Dancin’, David C. Cook, 1985, p. 87.)
The Psalmist writes, “My heart is in anguish within me; the terrors of death assail me” (Psalm 55:4). God visits us some- times with great storms in our lives in order to help us understand better His purpose for us. He mingles the good with the bad so that we might be humbled. He holds us up as examples of faith and strength for others to be blessed. We are sometimes stricken so that He might use us a teaching tool so that we as well as others might learn of Him; that we might always seek comfort in Him and not in ourselves. There is opportunity in every storm, if we only have the eyes of faith to see it.
We pray. Heavenly Father. Sometimes You visit us with great storms in our lives in order to help us understand better Your purpose for us. You mingle the good with the bad so that we might be humbled. You hold us up as examples of faith and strength for others to be blessed. We are sometimes stricken so that You might use us a teaching tool so that we as well as others might learn of You; that we might always seek comfort in You and not in ourselves. Forgive us when we complain and bless us with Your comforting presence in our sorrows. We know that there is opportunity in every storm, if we only have the eyes of faith to see it. In Jesus name we pray. Amen!
Therefore my friend, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry for itself; each day has enough trouble of its own. (Matt 6:34) This Passing Day. May this passing day honor our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and be a blessing to you and everyone you meet. Find a stranger and say hello. Don't let another day pass without your day blessing someone else.
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<thispassingday@gmail.com> From Beech Springs, God bless you for Jesus sake.