Dealing With Disasters

Disasters have been happening since the beginning of time. And we have been dealing with disasters in much the same way since the beginning of time. Asking why did this terrible thing happen? Who is to blame? What do we do now?

Disasters come in two forms: man-made disasters and natural disasters. Man-made disasters have been around since Adam and Eve, and Cain and Abel. They still abound in today's world: some are due to human error and judgment; others are due to mankind's sin and the forces of evil that sin releases. Terrorist attacks. Train wrecks. 9/11. Auto accidents. The blame for these disasters are easy to pinpoint. Why they happened is not so easy; sometimes we don't know the "why."

Natural disasters have been a part of our lives since God created the natural order. Hurricanes. Tornadoes. Floods. Landslides. We're still asking "why'? We don't always find the answer. We do, however, know who to blame: (1) Climate change. Not so! Natural disasters were occurring hundreds of years before we began polluting the atmosphere. (2) God's punishment for sin. Some are saying that the horrendous flooding in Texas is because God is punishing the people there for their great sins. Not true! Jesus said, hundreds of years ago, that God does not work that way. (3) People in authority. "They" should have known this disaster was coming -- and warned us ahead of time. No way! Not unless they were God would they have that foreknowledge.

SO, what can we learn from either type of disaster? (1) We can't always control what happens; (2) Nothing we have is ours -- all we "own" belongs to God, and is a gift to us from Him; (3) Human life is temporary; we can lose everything without warning, in a moment of time; (4) How we deal with disasters can either draw us closer to God or turn us away from God; (5) There is tremendous power in prayer; through our prayers, God releases strength and power and courage and hope for the future into the lives of the people affected by the disaster; (6) Disasters bring forth the best in us -- as we rally together to help the victims of a disaster.

Disasters will continue to happen. We will never know when or where. We will continue to lay the blame on someone or something -- not that it does much good. God will continue to be with us, and will help us through every disaster. The human spirit will rise above each disaster -- we will hopefully learn from what happened, we will re-build, life will go on, and we will become stronger and more determined to create a better future for everyone.

-- Dr. Don Kuehle is a retired United Methodist minister who lives in Jackson. Opinions are those of the author.