The Tragedy of Haiti

I am watching more TV than I would like to admit, but only to grab the headlines. One of today's headlines was the earthquake tragedy of Haiti. What a shock!

I am wondering why does God allows this type of tragedy to occur. The tragedy of New Orleans is still fresh in my mind. I am wondering is God prejudice. Did these people do something or did they not do something?

It is difficult to question God, but God does allow us to question Him, to even be angry with Him. Many persons in the Bible were angry with God; Job questioned God when God allowed Satan to take him. Job was highly favored with God; he was so highly favored that God told Satan that" Job was blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil." (Job 2:3) Even though Job was highly favored by God, God still tests us to see if we will be faithful to him.

Moses was also angry with God; he questioned why God would bring the Israelites into the desert and allow evil to befall them. But God does not desert us even in our tragedies. He is in complete control of the universe.

The issue of suffering is the most common argument against religion. People often ask, "If there is a loving god, why does He make people suffer?" I believe that God is love. I don't believe that God causes sickness or pain or tragedies. He doesn't make people hurt, and He doesn't want them to suffer. The life of Jesus proved this. Jesus was compassionate and cared about people. His entire ministry was one of love.

But the questions are these: can't God do something about these natural disasters, and why doesn't He do something about them? Does He send suffering to punish us?

You know I used to ask these questions all the time but I could not find answers to them. I do know that God makes it clear in His word, "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts." (Isaish 55:9)

"The people of of Israel were foolish to act as if they knew what God was thinking or planning. His knowledge and wisdom are far greater than man's. We are foolish to try to fit God into our mold - to make his plans and purposes conform to ours." How could the creation possibly know what the Creator was doing?

These acts of disaster are devastating to mankind, but even in their devastation God can make something good out of them. God allows sufferng so that our faith in Him will grow, our compassin for others will increase, and we 'll be better able to encourage other hurting people (2 Corinthians 1:3-5)

The more we suffer, the more comfort God gives us. We must remember that every trial or tragedy that we endure will help us to comfort other people who are suffering similar troubles. Maybe it won't be a earthquate like in Haiti or a hurricane like in New Orleans, but we all have some kind of tragedy in our lives that we have to cope with and only God can give us the strength to endure it.

Thought for Today: God is faithful. His strength is sufficient for any trial. When trials come, they keep us from pride and teach us dependence on God. He comforts us so we can comfort others.