A beautiful disaster.

I was riding in the car on the way home from Oklahoma some time ago, and I got to thinking about creation. Isn’t it just amazing how beautiful the earth really is? It always seems to me that this is God’s way of saying, “Hello.”  You see in Genesis how He creates all things “good,” and I saw the world for what it was supposed to be along that Texas highway.

I got a feeling of awe watching birds fly, trees waving in the wind, I even saw some camels and was amazed.

Then, I thought of all the destruction of Hurricane Ike in South Texas or the devastating tsunamis is Asia and the people affected by it and I had to ask, “God, why?”

I see all these beautiful things along the Texas countryside and all of God’s creations, and then turn on the television and see the exact opposite. A guy like me gets pretty frustrated at this.

There is a reason… right? Or is it just God letting the earth play itself out?  The Book of Genesis makes it clear that God allows the trees and all living things to produce by themselves. Even animals seem to have a sort of free will. So maybe weather is the same way. Maybe the entire universe, in a way that I cannot comprehend, is free to do as it pleases while still being completely in the hands of God’s will.

Here is the verse that I keep coming back to when I start to wrestle with this idea:

Isaiah 45:7 – I form the light and create darkness, I bring prosperity and create disaster; I, the LORD, do all these things.

It appears to me, according to this verse, that God directly does all these things. I hope this doesn’t surprise you.

I will never figure God out. No one will. I can only look at the Scripture and hope to understand it in a very small and humble way.

Look at this very well known verse:

Proverbs 19:21 – Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the LORD’s purpose that prevails.

My conclusion? It is in God’s hands. I have faith that God is just, true, righteous, and most of all: perfect. Would my plan be for no one to be hurt or affected by such disasters? Of course. However, it isn’t my choice; it is God’s.  So whether or not I can wrap my mind around why these things happen, I do know that even disaster is beautiful when it is part of God’s perfect plan.

I can have peace in knowing this.