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Greetings!
If I was to write a book someday, it would be about the disasters found in the bible. One can encounter the story of the flood in Genesis to the collapsing tower in Siloam that killed 18 people. The Bible is not silent about disasters, pain, and loss. After all, God lost his son.
I have witnessed and helped to respond to disasters internationally and domestically for the past four decades. Somewhere along in my journey I gathered these notes of “go to” scriptures that keep my feet grounded. Well, I confess, most of the time!
May they be an inspiration to you too.
- God wants to hear from us - David the Psalmist cries out Psalms 4:8, Psalsms 55:4-8, 16-17 Psalms 31:9-10, 22b and Lamentations 2:18-19, 3:49-50.
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Suffering is universal. It is wrong to say God is punishing us. God said Job’s friends were wrong Job 4:7-9.
- We don’t always know why God allows events to occur, but we can trust that God is love and that God is at work in the world in powerful ways. Job 42:1-3.
- God invites our burdens. Mathew 11:28-30.
- God knows us more than we know ourselves, thus we may not always understand the emotions disaster survivors go through. Only God knows. Psalms 139:1-4.
- God is not far away; we are not to be afraid. John 14:27.
- We may never know why the disaster occurred, but we can know that nothing can separate us from God’s love. Romans 8:35, 37-39.
- God sent his son so we can be connected. John 3:16.
- God offers us new life, a new beginning, a chance to live life to the full. John 10:10b.
May you be blessed and proclaim Christ in all you do and say.
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