After the Flood

The sun is shining today, and the floods are receding. I sent out a dove and it came back with a branch in its mouth; it might have been seaweed, but I wasn’t sure. There is still a lot of standing water, and people will be assessing and dealing with the damage for months.


It is hard to know how to talk about events such as the rains we experienced this weekend. On the one hand, I have no doubt that God has ultimate control of all creation. He can and does actively use extremes of nature for his purposes in the lives of his children and the world he made. God made it all, and has the absolute right to do with it as he pleases. Droughts, floods, storms and more can be tools in God’s hand for punishment, correction, or even just to remind us God is still around (remember Elijah!).

On the other hand (I know, I sound like Tevya again), I am convinced that much of the destructive stuff we often refer to as “acts of God” can be traced back to the Fall. Romans 8:19-20 tells us that all of creation was put under the curse of decay because of the sin of humanity, and that it groans under the burden. It makes sense to me that destructive extremes such as we saw a few days ago could fit in the category of consequences of our own making. We were put here as stewards of creation, to nurture it and care for it. When we rebelled against God’s sovereignty and the role we were given, we brought severe consequences on ourselves and the world of which we had been put in charge. It might even be argued that we gave control over to the enemy; if that is true, the only surprise should be that chaos is not the norm!

So, what do I say to someone whose house had 6 feet of water flowing through, and who lost pretty much everything they had? Do I tell them that God was angry with them; that they brought this on themselves? Or do I tell them that stuff happens in a fallen world, and that God just lets it?

Unless and until God speaks a direct word through a prophet (a title I do not claim!) about why the skies opened up so wide last week, I simply do not have any idea why it happened. Perhaps some day I will be given some insight about that, perhaps not.

But in the meantime, what I can tell that person is that God was not caught unaware by the rain; that the Lord was and is present with them to see them through. Often how the Lord makes his presence known in trying times is by sending people like you and me to be the hands and feet of Christ in the world. We can help in many ways. We can help fill sandbags or carry out damaged furniture. We can give essential supplies to get them through the days ahead. We can sit down and weep with them over their losses. The ministry of presence is a powerful Means of Grace that we can offer on behalf of Christ and his Church. And it can be much more helpful in the long run than having answers to all those questions.

Grace and peace,

Bruce