Chaplin's Corner - OCT

As I’m writing this, my hometown of Asheville, N.C., is cleaning up after the remnants of Hurricane Helene. Even though I’m an Iowan now, seeing the devastation and hearing about the loss of life where I grew up still hurts.

My family members who live there are OK, and they’re dealing as best they can with the aftermath.

But the question inevitably comes up: Why does God allow natural disasters?

Such tragedies cause many people to question God’s goodness. It’s interesting that natural disasters are often called “acts of God,” while God receives no “credit” for good weather (which is an act of God too).

God didn’t create the universe to be this way. He created it to be pure, and that the different elements in the universe would work together in perfect harmony.

But when Adam and Eve disobeyed God, they brought sin into God’s perfect universe. Sin grew to the point that God destroyed all living creatures except Noah’s family and a pair of each species of animal.

And one thing to remember – the Earth had never experienced rain until the worldwide flood.

Therefore, sin caused the changes in God’s perfect universe and the laws God established for nature to operate. Most natural disasters are a result of these changed laws at work.

Hurricanes and tornados are the results of divergent weather patterns colliding. Earthquakes are the result of shifts in the Earth’s plate structure. Volcanoes erupt when magma pressure builds up too much.

In much the same way that God allows evil people to commit evil acts, God allows the Earth to reflect the consequences that sin has had on creation. And God sometimes uses natural disasters as a judgment against sin (Numbers 16).

The fall of humanity into sin had effects on everything, including the world we inhabit. Everything in creation is subject to “frustration” and “decay.” Sin is the ultimate cause of natural disasters just as it’s the cause of death, disease, and suffering.

We can understand why natural disasters occur. What we don’t understand is why God allows them to occur.

Natural disasters cause millions of people to re-evaluate their priorities in life. Hundreds of millions of dollars in aid is sent to help the people who are suffering.

But in the midst of such disasters, many amazing miracles occurred during the course of natural disasters that prevented even greater loss of life.

Churches are usually filled after disasters as people realize how tenuous their lives really are and how life can be taken away in an instant. Many think about where they will spend eternity.

Christian ministries and charities have the opportunity to help, minister, counsel, pray, and show God’s love on a personal level. God can, and does, bring great good out of terrible tragedies.

Rom 8:28 –  And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

What we do know is this: God is good, even in the midst of calamity.