Comfort in the Flood

Psalm 119 is a psalm that is devoted to the authority and power of God's Word, and beginning in verse 47, we can read:
47 And I will delight myself in Your commandments, Which I love.
48 My hands also I will lift up to Your commandments, Which I love, And I will meditate on Your statutes.
49 Remember the word to Your servant, Upon which You have caused me to hope.
50 This is my comfort in my affliction, For Your word has given me life.

When affliction comes - and it will - we can rest in the hope that comes from our relationship with Christ.  It's a hope that Hebrews 6 describes as an anchor for our souls.  And, when others are in crisis, we have the opportunity to be hope-givers - to pray, to listen, to speak truth, and to be used of the Lord.  God is calling us to be so established in the Word so that when trouble comes - to us or to someone we encounter - we can minister His truth.

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In 2nd Corinthians 1, we can see a passage that reminds us of the comfort that the Holy Spirit desires
to bring in times of trouble:
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort,
4 who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.

More than 20,000 rescues - that is the number reported by the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association in the week of devastating flooding that has occurred in the state of Louisiana.

And, the Association has sent in crisis-trained chaplains with the Billy Graham Rapid Response Team to work with the relief ministry of Samaritan's Purse to, as the website article says, "help meet the physical, emotional and spiritual needs of those who are suffering, as the chaplains focus on offering prayer and a listening ear to anyone who wants to talk."

A CBN.com story, integrating information from The Weather Channel, stated that more than 11,000 people have been forced into shelters. The death toll is reported to be at least seven people, with thousands of homes affected.   The story said that tens of thousands of people had to evacuate.

The CBN story reported one dramatic moment that was caught on camera showing rescuers as they tried frantically to pull a woman from her submerged car:

"I'm drowning!" the trapped female motorist exclaimed.

"I'm coming," her rescuer replied. "Watch out! We are going to break this window."

Seconds later, she emerged safely from under the water.

Emergency crews continued to do battle with the massive flooding, which was reported to be strong enough to knock even tractor trailers off the highway.

A local television station, WBRZ, was attempting to link displaced residents with missing family members.

A ministry called Mercy Chefs, based in Virginia, is on the scene in Louisiana and has begun to serve 7,500 restaurant-quality meals per day for victims, first responders and volunteers, according to the Gospel Herald.  Founder Gary LeBlanc said the Baton Rouge area really is a mess, telling the website, "People's stories are reminding me of conversations I had with folks following Hurricane Katrina. Many residents escaped their homes in vehicles only to become stranded on overpasses and roadways."

It is a dire situation, certainly, for residents of Louisiana, many of whom are displaced, whose homes and businesses are covered in water, and who will certainly return to find a massive cleanup in the aftermath of destruction.   But, as we know, God is present in the times of crisis.  And, often the way He shows up is through the efforts of His people.  We can be sensitive to how and where God dispatches us, so that we can bring hope.

The call is going out today for us to be hope-givers - whether it be participating in bringing relief to flood victims, or attempting to bring peace to our cities, as our hearts are stirred once again by the unrest in Milwaukee.  There may be a family that has lost a loved one, where hope and comfort are needed...certainly the children who lost parents in that plane crash in Tuscaloosa will be needing incredible support.  Every believer can't do it all, and is not expected to, but I believe the Lord desires for us to be ready and expectant for Him to dispatch us into moments of crisis.  And, when crisis hits close to home, we can trust in Jesus to be our source of hope and strength.