16 But I will sing of Your power; Yes, I will sing aloud of Your mercy in the morning; For You have been my defense And refuge in the day of my trouble.
17 To You, O my Strength, I will sing praises; For God is my defense, My God of mercy.
The tornadoes in Oklahoma, as well as the disasters of April 27, 2011 in Alabama, or Superstorm Sandy in the New York/New Jersey area - and countless other instances of crisis or destruction, remind us that we do live in a fallen, turbulent world - a world that is passing away and ultimately will be restored by Almighty God, who has promised a new heaven and a new earth. So, in the meantime, on a planet that is troubled by natural upheaval at times, we can have hope in a God who is by nature a redeemer and restorer, the One we can turn to when we have suffered damage, when our lives are beset by trials. When a person asks, "Where is God?" in the aftermath of a tragedy - we can say, "right where He always is" or has always been - working to bring peace out of turmoil and to express the riches of His unlimited love.
2nd Corinthians 4 speaks to the human frailty that is exposed during times of crisis or disaster:
7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us. 8 We are hard pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; 9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed-- 10 always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body.
When we see a crisis, we recognize that even though God is not to blame, He is right there in the midst of the adversity and will show His care and faithfulness, so that people may come to a knowledge of Himself. And, we see the faith element in the recent tragedy in Oklahoma...
It was even integrated by a high-profile reporter in a bit of an awkward way. CNN's Wolf Blitzer, on location, interviewed a lady who had survived the devastation. In talking with a lady named Rebecca, he said: "You guys did a great job. I guess you got to thank the Lord. Right?"
REBECCA: Yes.
BLITZER: Do you thank the Lord for that split-second decision?
REBECCA: I -- I'm actually an atheist.
BLITZER: Oh, you are. All right.
(LAUGHTER)
BLITZER: But you made the right call.
REBECCA: Yes. But we are here, and you know, I don't blame anybody for thanking the Lord.
BLITZER: Of course not.
I agree, and we should give credit to God in a legitimate way when He protects or preserves our lives. I think it's interesting that in times of disaster, even media personalities, who generally don't demonstrate a whole lot of understanding or acknowledgement of faith, seem to be a bit more sensitive to at least giving a tip of the hat to the Almighty.
The hashtag #PrayforOklahoma was a top trending topic on Twitter for the remainder of the day on Monday and throughout yesterday. And, indeed faith stories are emerging from the rubble. I reported to you yesterday about the lady attributing the preservation of her life to God, whose little dog was discovered in the rubble - alive - in the middle of a television interview. An L.A. Times piece tells the story of Edie Cordray, who sent an urgent message to members of her church in nearby Norman to pray for her best friend. That friend, Becky Jo Evans, teaches first grade at Plaza Towers Elementary School, which took a direct hit. Evans and her students were missing, Cordray wrote.
Just after 6 p.m., Cordray received a text message: Evans had been found. Turns out that Becky had got some of her students into a bathroom. The walls started falling in on them, so she jumped on top of them, shielding them with her body. After the storm had passed, Evans pulled children from the destroyed building. But she still doesn't know how many of them survived.
Another teacher at the school, Rhonda Crosswhite, literally used her body as a shield to protect students, according to the TODAY show website.
And, Christian NBA star Kevin Durant of the Oklahoma City Thunder is putting money where his faith is. He's donated $1 million to the Red Cross for the purpose of aiding the Oklahoma victims.
According to DailyThunder.com, Durant had tweeted, “Praying for the victims of the Tornadoes in OKC these last few days..Everybody stay safe!”
Durant spoke to reporters in Minnesota and said, "As the day went on and I saw the footage and the casualties and the houses being blown away, it was tough to see...I call Oklahoma City my home. I go through Moore all the time. It’s unfortunate. We’re going to come together as a city like we always do and we’re going to bounce back.”
On the BeyondTheUltimate.com website, Durant is quoted as saying, "In the Bible, (it says) the Lord exalts humility and that’s one thing I try to be all the time. When I’m talking in front of people or when people tell me I’m great, I (remind myself that I) can always be better. Humility comes before honor. I always work on what I have now. I have to be thankful to the Lord for the gifts He’s given me. My gift back to Him is to always be humble and always work as hard as I can." The people of Oklahoma are on the receiving end of Kevin's willingness to be humble and share his resources.
Christian ministry organizations are providing much-needed relief to the victims. For example, as WORLD Magazine reports, more than 5,500 Southern Baptists in the state had gone through a church training program for disaster response.
By Tuesday morning, Sam Porter—head of disaster relief for the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma—had a message for those volunteers: “Today’s the day. It’s game time in Oklahoma when it comes to disaster relief.” And, as is the pattern, faith-based groups are on the ground providing not only the physical resources but the spiritual encouragement - many will not understand why the tornado ravaged such a large area, but hopefully they will come to recognize and understand the love of God, who is a very present time of help in the midst of and after the storms of life.
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