Sandy, Sovereignty and the Supremacy of Christ

            As you are undoubtedly well aware, this past week the East Coast of the United States was battered by hurricane Sandy.  If fact the battering was so severe that the media has abandoned the term hurricane in large part for the more descriptive Super Storm Sandy.

            And it was a super storm.  Usually hurricanes are southeastern or Gulf Coast affairs, but Sandy was different.  Her effects were felt from North Carolina to Maine, and as far inland as Ohio.  It is an amazing thing that the same storm that sent waves surging over sea walls in the Carolinas also blanketed the mountains of West Virginia with snow.  It wasn’t just an amazing storm, it was an amazing display of the power of God.

            In one of the most interesting passages of Scripture to extol the power of God, Elihu proclaims the majesty of God largely in terms of His sovereignty over the weather.  He is praised for ordering the snow and the rain to fall, the winds to blow and for authoring storms so fierce that animals do not venture out of their dens.  And yes for directing the path of storms.  And not only does He direct them He directs them to accomplish His purposes.  Witness Job 37:12-13.

They (storms) turn around and around by his guidance,

to accomplish all that he commands them

on the face of the habitable world.

Whether for correction or for his land

or for love, he causes it to happen.

When a disaster strikes, even the unbelieving world (isn’t it interesting that even insurance companies recognize storms of as an “act of God”) and far too many Christians shriek “why God?”  But the answer is simple, because He is accomplishing His good purposes through the storm/earthquake/forest fire/tsunami/outbreak of disease etc.  And as Job says, that purpose might be to judge or correct a people, simply to facilitate to renewal of the land (only a divine Creator could design a system where periodic forest fires actually benefit a forest) or to express His love.  Some would be quick to say that a destructive storm could not possibly be an expression of God’s love, but they would be profoundly wrong.

A disaster of this magnitude will undoubtedly draw believers closer to Christ, and  God may even use it to bring unbelievers to saving faith in Christ.  And to be blunt, even though dozens were killed, millions are still without power and the cost of the damage will be in the billions of dollars, if God used this storm to bring one unbeliever to saving faith, or to strengthen the faith of one believer, all of the destruction and terror wrought by Sandy was a supreme act of love.  All of this temporal destruction and misery is but momentary affliction and really is of no consequence when compared to eternity, and any eternal good outweighs all of the hardship that this temporary life can throw at us.

We tend to forget that death, destruction and judgment is what we all deserve.  Apart from the grace of God and the gift of Salvation we are all by nature children of wrath.  God would be entirely just and right to destroy the entire world and cast every person on the planet into hell based on their own actions and their own sinful nature.  Anything other than that is an expression of love.

Whether it was an expression of love or judgment or just much needed renewal for the earth, one of undeniable fact about Sandy, was that it accomplished God’s purposes.  In a hymn of praise authored by the Holy Spirit through the pen of Paul embedded in the letter to the Colossians (Colossians 1:15-20), Paul praises Jesus as the creator, saying that all things were created through Him and for Him.  That includes this storm system.   It was authored by Christ to accomplish His own purposes. While we might not understand what they are, we can be confident that they are ultimately good, because Christ is good. 

To bitterly wail “why God?” is to question the character of Christ.  That does not mean it is sinful to mourn loss, or be moved by the loss of life (especially considering anytime there is a large scale loss of life many unbelievers step into eternity where they will be judged on their own merits before a holy God) after all even Jesus wept over Lazarus, and we are commanded to weep with those who weep.  But it does mean that it is always sinful to deny not only that God is sovereign over every happening in the universe but also that He has a divine purpose for every happening in the universe.  Even fierce storms.  Know that everything was created by and for our loving savior, and you will understand why we needn’t mourn (or live) as those who have no hope.