New Orleans Goes Under
by Tyler Zach
The city of New Orleans is 80% flooded. A full evacuation of the city has been ordered. Looters are everywhere. The mayor says that some of them are idiots and the rest are just people trying to stay alive. This is probably the worst natural disaster that this country has ever seen. Thousands are expected to be dead.
Should we read our newspapers and watch the news on TV all day and dismiss this as “just another natural disaster” or say, “Shucks, that is too bad”?
Lawrence Richards says, “Sometimes things happen that are so terrible that we can’t dismiss them as mere chance. When disaster strikes, an appropriate response is not to shrug and say, ‘Bad luck,’ but to examine our hearts, and to see if perhaps God is crying out for our attention.”
In the midst of such a tragedy, what are we to do? Well, it is clear from the bible that natural disasters have always occurred. This is nothing new. In the days of Joel the prophet, he called his people to first mourn with despair and grief…after great plagues overtook them. That was the first plan of action.
We should model that call and mourn with the people of New Orleans. We need to wake up and not pretend that what happened in New Orleans will never happen here in Nebraska. We need to humble ourselves before God, grieve, and listen to what He has to say to us through this experience.
C.S. Lewis says, “God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pain: it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world."
I’m very careful when it comes to the issue of prophecy in our time. But, I can’t help but be in awe of a prophecy that Kim Clement made July 22, 2005. He told the crowd in Houston, TX this:
“O New Orleans God speaks to you from Houston tonight and says enough of this! For a judgment is coming says the Spirit of the Lord, and I will take the men that have stood in faith, raise them above the flood that shall destroy... Enough of this! For I will take the curses and the bodies will even rise and they will come forth on the water, but I will keep you, and the stench of death will only last a few days. And then what I promised two years ago will come to pass for August, September and October of this year I made a promise it would happen, and God said be strengthened now, be strengthened now for enough is enough says the Lord.”
Here is an interesting thing I read about a Christian gathering (that has been going on long before this incident) in Louisiana:
"In an attempt to bring revival to Louisiana and the Nation, a wonderful group of people in Baton Rouge proclaimed their prayer to God and began to draw young people together annually in a gathering called "Deluge". They would gather before the world-famous Mardi Gras that happened there every year. They were praying that God would heal their state and I don't think they realized the depth of their cries to God. The word "Deluge", the name of their gathering, means "A severe flood, a great quantity of something arriving at the same time; from the latin word deluvium, the word "diluere" means "WASH AWAY."
If you want to donate towards the relief effort, go to www.Google.com and click on their link.
The city of New Orleans is 80% flooded. A full evacuation of the city has been ordered. Looters are everywhere. The mayor says that some of them are idiots and the rest are just people trying to stay alive. This is probably the worst natural disaster that this country has ever seen. Thousands are expected to be dead.
Should we read our newspapers and watch the news on TV all day and dismiss this as “just another natural disaster” or say, “Shucks, that is too bad”?
Lawrence Richards says, “Sometimes things happen that are so terrible that we can’t dismiss them as mere chance. When disaster strikes, an appropriate response is not to shrug and say, ‘Bad luck,’ but to examine our hearts, and to see if perhaps God is crying out for our attention.”
In the midst of such a tragedy, what are we to do? Well, it is clear from the bible that natural disasters have always occurred. This is nothing new. In the days of Joel the prophet, he called his people to first mourn with despair and grief…after great plagues overtook them. That was the first plan of action.
We should model that call and mourn with the people of New Orleans. We need to wake up and not pretend that what happened in New Orleans will never happen here in Nebraska. We need to humble ourselves before God, grieve, and listen to what He has to say to us through this experience.
C.S. Lewis says, “God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pain: it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world."
I’m very careful when it comes to the issue of prophecy in our time. But, I can’t help but be in awe of a prophecy that Kim Clement made July 22, 2005. He told the crowd in Houston, TX this:
“O New Orleans God speaks to you from Houston tonight and says enough of this! For a judgment is coming says the Spirit of the Lord, and I will take the men that have stood in faith, raise them above the flood that shall destroy... Enough of this! For I will take the curses and the bodies will even rise and they will come forth on the water, but I will keep you, and the stench of death will only last a few days. And then what I promised two years ago will come to pass for August, September and October of this year I made a promise it would happen, and God said be strengthened now, be strengthened now for enough is enough says the Lord.”
Here is an interesting thing I read about a Christian gathering (that has been going on long before this incident) in Louisiana:
"In an attempt to bring revival to Louisiana and the Nation, a wonderful group of people in Baton Rouge proclaimed their prayer to God and began to draw young people together annually in a gathering called "Deluge". They would gather before the world-famous Mardi Gras that happened there every year. They were praying that God would heal their state and I don't think they realized the depth of their cries to God. The word "Deluge", the name of their gathering, means "A severe flood, a great quantity of something arriving at the same time; from the latin word deluvium, the word "diluere" means "WASH AWAY."
If you want to donate towards the relief effort, go to www.Google.com and click on their link.
posted by Tyler Zach at 10:09 AM
5 Comments:
I enjoyed reading your blog. The C.S. Lewis quote you used is one of my favorites. I agree in thinking that the Lord is using this difficult time in New Orleans to purify us. What interesting info. on the gatherings that they were having. The disaster is devastating, yet amazing. What choice do they now have but to let go of the things they were lusting and cling to what is most important in life--Him. -Your GF
Not to get into specifics, but instead of wasting your time praying, quoting lunatics preaching fire and brimstone and promoting in- effective faith based gatherings, you should take a look into the actual causes of the disaster in New Orleans and the absence of any compassion or assistance from the supposedly ‘moral’ Bush administration. Now is the time to examine the structural disparities that cost the lives of hundreds of societies neediest and question why some of your comrades pick far less important singles issues at the expense of greater causes.
Thanks for leaving a comment. I appreciate your opinion. We can agree to disagree that praying is a waste of time and that faith based gatherings are a waste of time.
During 9/11 tragedy we were able to unite because we had a common enemy...the terrorists. Now that we don't have a terrorist to blame for this tragedy, it is us against ourselves. The political parties can go at each other...but we shouldn't be playing the blame game now.
It isn't the time to "examine disparities", but it is time to show compassion. It is time to go down there and show these people that no matter what their loss in this life, they have everything to gain if they are clinging to God.
While God allows such things to happen as a natural course of events; anyone who says this was a specific event that God thrust on an unsuspecting people is a lunatic and fanatic. Great indeed is the mystery of the Gospel and the understanding of God but this tragedy is one of those inexplicable events that makes us ask the question "why do bad things happen to good people." Anyone who interprets this as the "wrath of God on an evil people" is attempting to elevate himself/herself to deity status. We are incapable of knowing God's grand plan, His Will, or even fortelling the "end of days." Anyone who thinks they are at this level of understanding are only fooling themselves. To use events such as this as a way to intimidate or scare people into a transient "belief" in God is immoral and contradictory to the teachings of Christ.
Dear Anonymous,
Thanks for the comment. I wish more people would voice their opinion. It is good to sharpen each other.
You bring up some good points:
1) A person who believes that God thrusts danger on people is a lunatic and fanatic
2) Great indeed is the mystery of the gospel
3) Why do bad things happen to good people?
4) We are incapable of knowing God's grand plan, His Will, and the “end of days”.
I will try to address all four points at one time. Before I do, you must know this. First, I am not God and I don’t pretend to have all the answers. I deeply apologize if it felt like I was “elevating myself” to deity status as you say. If I make any statements or opinions that are not aligned to the Word of God, I welcome rebuke! As Jesus said, “I can do nothing on My own initiative. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is just, because I do not seek My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me” (John 5:30-32). My intent is to only say what I hear the Father saying.
I can not fully understand why tragedies happen and why bad things happen to good people. But this track record goes way back all throughout scripture. So, even if we can’t fully explain it, we can get a glimpse of God’s role in all this.
Whether God DOES things or ALLOWS things to happen…the ultimate truth is that He is sovereign over everything. He controls the weather! Here are just a few examples of this in the bible:
- Genesis 6:5-9:19 (Earth destroyed by flood, people and animals killed)
- Exodus 9:23-29 (hail and fire from heaven on Egypt)
- Joshua 10:11 (hail on the Amorites, etc.)
- I Samuel 7:10 (thunder disperses the Philistines)
- Nahum 1:3 (judgment with whirlwind and drought)
- Leviticus 26:19-20 (rainless sky, parched earth)
- Deuteronomy 11:13-15 (rain as reward for obedience)
- Deuteronomy 28:24 (drought punishment)
- I Samuel 12:18 (thunder and rain to get people's attention)
- II Samuel 21:1 (drought and famine)
- I Kings 8:35-36 (good weather reward)
- I Kings 16:30-18:45 (rain withheld and given)
- Hosea 13:15 (dry weather)
- Amos 4:7 (rain given and withheld from certain cities)
- Jonah 1:4,10-15 (man punished and redirected by sea storm)
- Zechariah 14:17 (rain withheld as judgment)
- Revelation 16:21 (hailstone punishment)
“After the loss of his ten children owing to a “natural disaster” (Job 1:19), Job said, “The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord” (Job 1:21). At the end of the book, the inspired writer confirms Job’s understanding of what happened. He says Job’s brothers and sisters “comforted him for all the evil that the Lord had brought upon him” (Job 42:11).” – John Piper
Job in the bible was clearly a righteous man. And so were many of the people who died in New Orleans. I, myself, do not have an answer as to why they died. But, I do know that God is good and that He works for the good of those who love Him (Romans 8:28).
So, in all of this, you might be asking yourself if you want to worship a God who brings disaster like this. I say Yes Yes Yes!
If you look through a lens that shows that this world is all that there is to hope in, then you will be devastated. But if you look at this world in the lens that shows that this world is temporary, then you will praise Him for desiring to wake us up and cause us to tremble before Him. God is passionately pursuing us and wants us to spend the rest of eternity with Him. He will do everything possible to make this happen.
Let’s continue to “weep with those who weep” and show compassion on the people down there. Disaster or no disaster, this is clear command for us from God.
For further reflection, here is good article to read on natural disasters:
http://www.desiringgod.org/library/fresh_words/2004/122904.html
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