The April 27 Tornadoes: A Meditation on Suffering

Five waves of tornadoes passed through my county, killing nine. My mother knew one of the victims. I know some of those injured, including a former schoolteacher. Her husband and children are in the hospital. My uncle lives only a mile or two from where one of the tornadoes hit. Some debris ended up in his yard. A tornado passed less than 100 yards from my pastor's home. He, his family, and his home were spared. Many of his neighbors were not. What was so odd was that no part of the county was spared. Tornadoes hit some places expectedly, because of the terrain; tornadoes have struck there many times before. They hit other places unexpectedly, including a road near my uncle's home that I have traveled many times. It is closed for repairs '" downed power lines, trees, damaged homes. There are damaged trees and power lines less than a mile from my own home. I have looked at countless photos and videos of the devastation. I've seen some of it firsthand. And it is all shocking. My mother can't look at this stuff without crying. The tornadoes even affected our Sunday outing to a nearby art museum, which was closed because it had no electricity. The Internet feels like ground zero for us: lists of missing persons and misplaced items blown into others' yards, places to get help, and ways to help others.

Those who don't suffer are shallow spiritually. What is the purpose of suffering (storms, persecution, poverty, pain, sickness, death, etc)? God is burning up the dross of our lives and souls in order to perfect us and to produce praise in us. The highest praise comes from a wounded heart that God has made (or is making) whole. Everything we think, say, and do should be an act of worship. If it isn't, it is dross and must be removed '" through the fire of suffering.

Embrace suffering as God's will and best for you. Don't shun it. I wish more people boasted about their storms and scars '" and how God brought them through '" than even His providence. From wounds flow compassion and healing. As Jesus' wounds heal us, so ours heal others. We can empathize with others in their pain and teach them to see God in their storms. The scars produced by suffering are badges of honor, not of shame! How can we look Jesus in the face without suffering for him? Jesus has scars in his hands '" for us. Do we have scars in our hands and hearts '" for him?

There's another purpose to last week's tornadoes and to future storms '" both here and worldwide. In 1 Kings 19, Elijah ran away from Jezebel to Mount Horeb. There he witnessed wind, earthquake, and fire before hearing God's voice. God told him to anoint Hazael and Jehu as kings, and Elisha as the next prophet. In 2 Kings 2, we see Elijah pass the mantle to Elisha. The same thing is happening with us! First came the wind '" the tornado. What's next: earthquake and fire? After this, we'll hear the still, small voice of God. And it's leading up to the older generation passing on its mantle to the younger generation. This is all preparation for the coming worldwide revival. God is shaking us in order to make us, for the older to pass on the mantle to the younger. Read Malachi 4:5-6 again!

God wasn't in the whirlwind Elijah witnessed. But he was in the whirlwind Ezekiel witnessed (chapters 1-2). Ezekiel had a messianic, fiery vision in these chapters '" Jesus Christ [man, wings, ox, eagle] and four living creatures who followed God wherever he went. The portrait in these chapters is of life in the Spirit, of total obedience and Christlikeness. Have we found Jesus in the whirlwind? He's preparing us for life in the Spirit, for getting in the river and staying there, and for the coming revival. God was also in the fire with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego (Daniel 3). Whirlwind, tornado, and hurricane: the middle is still! You can find peace, stillness, quietness, rest '" Jesus '" in the middle of the storm. There are treasures in the darkness and we must find them [Isaiah 45:3].

Nahum 1:3: "The Lord has his way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet."

Isaiah 43:2: "When you walk through the waters, I will be with you, and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you; when you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, neither shall the flame kindle upon you."

A sermon by my pastor on Sunday, May 1
Job 1-2 '" when Job lost it all

-Don't let fear paralyze you.
-Discern the source of your trouble. Trust God.
-Job 1:21, 2:10 = declare to keep your faith. Reaffirm your commitment to God. Can you bless God today, when he takes away X?
-Praise (and serve) your way both through and out of crisis.
-Be sensitive and strategic. Don't reinvent the wheel. Don't seek credit. Who cares? Let it go to God. John 12:32 '" when we raise up Christ, he will draw men to himself.