God in the Midst of Crisis

I want to take a moment to talk about the Haiti Earthquake.  I hope you have been in prayer for the people of Haiti and all those who are there to aid them.  It was such a tragic destruction of precious life.  Sometimes a situation like this could be looked at and the question could be asked, “Where is God in all of this? If He is a loving and powerful God, how could something like this happen?”  So I want to take a look at the question for a moment.  Unfortunately, we know from the Bible that we are a sinful people and we now live in a fallen and cursed world.  We also know that Satan is called the Prince of this World.  Because the world turned away from Him, the result is a world that is in chaos.  But this does not mean that God is not present in the midst of the crisis!  He is there, working in the middle of it all, to bring some good from this and provide care and comfort for the people. 

I have been doing some work with an organization called Children’s Hunger Fund, which serves needy children here at home in the U.S. and around the world.  CHF has been working for some time to get into the Dominican Republic, which is next door to Haiti. The Wednesday before the earthquake, the Dominican Republic received its’ first sea container of aid, with people organized and trained locally to manage the supplies.  On the Sunday before the earthquake, a CHF team finished three days of training with a team of people in Haiti to prepare to receive shipments there as well.  Some of the training was concerning disaster preparedness and how CHF was ready to respond.  After the earthquake hit, the teams from the Dominican Republic immediately began to make their supplies available to the teams in Haiti.  This is not a coincidence!  This is just one of many stories showing that God is at work through His people in the midst of crisis.

 Would I prefer that this had never happened?  Of course! Human life is precious and I look forward with anticipation to the day when the earth will be made new, when suffering and sadness will be eliminated. But it will get worse before that happens, as our universe continues to deteriorate.  So is there any hope?  Our hope is the same as it has always been.  Our hope is in our loving God who shelters our souls in His hand.  Nothing can separate us from that love.  “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: ’For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.’ No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” 

Romans 8:35-39

Meanwhile, we must be His hands and feet in this world.  Traditionally the Church is the one that steps into these situations to bring hope and healing.  This is still the case today, regardless of what we might be led to believe.  The Church is on the frontlines in responding to tragedy.  Are you there with us?  Join with us in taking action to let others know that the People of God are alive and well. 

Be the Church—Change the World

Brandt Roney

©2010

Faith or Fear

As we begin this New Year, we must decide how we are going to approach it. Because we can’t wait until we see what this year brings to decide our approach! We must not be blown by the wind, yet remain flexible and adaptable. The most important question we face this year is will we choose to live by Faith or by Fear.

I will tell you now that living by fear is by far the easier choice. You will find support for this fear all around you. The news and papers will support you. Your friend who has lost their job will support you. Every change of the Dow and NASDAQ can support the fear. This is the easy way out. To believe that this world is in turmoil beyond our control, that we cannot anticipate what will happen, and that we are powerless. The truth is this is always the case!

These are not new truths, just ones that we do our best to avoid letting into our lives. Which is not really a bad thing, we certainly do not want to dwell on the negatives. What we need to realize is that God is beyond all of this and His plans are more intricate than we can imagine. Now some people have the wonderful gift of being able to see the end result, they have this vision of exactly where they are going and the steps needed to get them there. But at least for me, I only get a little glimpse of what the next step is. So God’s question to me is, when I don’t see the whole story and I can’t figure out how all the pieces fit together, will I respond with Faith or Fear? Will I live in victory and anticipation of what tomorrow will bring? Knowing that in the midst of everything that might be happening around me God has a purpose and a use for me? Do I really trust that the people I come into contact with are there because God has a reason for them to be there? Am I acting on those beliefs is an even better question. Faith is belief in action. The question is not only what we believe, but what our actions say about these beliefs. Do we trust in this world and the thinking of this world, or by our actions do we say that we believe that God is good, trustworthy and loving, as well as Almighty?

We are not talking about blind faith here. Some people might say that belief in a personal God is just a crutch for those too weak to stand on their own two feet and live life on their own terms. I could not disagree with them more! It takes great courage to walk the path that I have chosen, to accept that I cannot do it on my own, that I need to accept the forgiveness and grace that Jesus is offering to pour into our lives. This is not a simple path and should not be taken by those looking for the easy way out. This requires courage, dedication, vision, and the ability to recognize that there is more to this life than what is in front of our face. We are limited beings with limited understanding, yet we tend to think of ourselves as all knowing, as if there is nothing beyond what we can wrap our minds around. What shortsighted and small thinking this is!

No, I choose to say that I will live by Faith, and faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.

“Peace I leave with you; My peace I give you. I do not give as the world gives. Do not let your heart be troubled and do not be afraid.” John 14:27

Brandt Roney