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 Posted January 15th, 2010 by Pete Scazzero
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A number of people have asked me about where God is amidst the devastation of the recent earthquake in Haiti. What do we tell our children, our young people, our church, and seekers? Last Sunday I preached a summary of the Book of Isaiah to our church as we concluded a recent teaching series. We distributed two weeks of a Daily Office based on Isaiah that you are welcome to download. It can be found at: http://newlifefellowship.org/resources/sermons
Why does God allow evil like the earthquake in Haiti? The answer is: “I don’t know.” Nobody does.
The Jews went through repeated tumultuous, confusing, often disastrous, events during the time of Isaiah. The country was shaken to the core after King Uzziah died. He had provided 52 years of stability and relatively good leadership. They were invaded by the Assyrians and later conquered by the Babylonians. They lost everything and were carried into exile 500-700 miles from their homes. Isaiah had a Word for them; he has a Word for us:
1. Remember: God is on the Throne
God reveals Himself as “the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted (Isaiah 6). He is sitting, relaxed and not anxious. He is the Lord Almighty and in control over all historical events! God is beyond us. We can’t figure Him out. The nations are a drop in the bucket and we can never wrap our arms around His massiveness. He works through and in the stumps (Isaiah 6:13, 11:1) — that is the small, ugly, seemingly dead things in life. The kingdom is a mustard seed and we can trust that our God, who sits on the throne, is good. He suffers with the people of Haiti today. It is a stump. He will bring seeds of His kingdom, somehow, in this tragedy.
2. Waiting Patiently for God is the Foundation of the Spiritual Life
This is what the Sovereign LORD, the Holy One of Israel, says:
“In repentance and rest is your salvation,
in quietness and trust is your strength,
but you would have none of it.” (Isaiah 30:15)
Waiting on God patiently is not something we do once in a while. It truly is the foundation of a solid, mature life in Christ. There is no other way to develop a genuine spirituality. God offers us His strength and salvation amidst the confusion and difficulties of life. The people of Isaiah’s day would not wait on the Lord, but insisted on rushing headlong to disaster. It is painful to watch the footage on Haiti. God invites us to pray, wait, trust and hope in Him alone during these difficult hours.
3. God Invites You to Join Him in Transforming the World (61:4)
They will rebuild the ancient ruins
And restore the places long devastated;
They will renew the ruined cities, that have been devastated for generations
God is in the process of renewing and transforming the world. He invites us to join Him in that renewal process, using our time, gifts, talents, and energy on behalf of this renewal He is doing. We are the ones to rebuild the ancient ruins that exist in our broken world (Isaiah 61:4). Let’s do all we can to contribute to the recovery effort in Haiti.
4. Loving Your Enemy is at the Core of the Christian Life (Isaiah 58:3-4)
The most recent enemy to come out of the news the last few days has been about Pat Robertson. He apparently said that Haiti deserved this earthquake for making a pact with the devil, that it was sent from God as a form of judgment. When I first heard this, I was indignant and joined the conversation around me (at least in my heart) in murdering him. Watch his remarks on video and see what you think. It seems to me some words were put in his mouth. I did not sense a vindictive spirit from him. Yet even if he did utter such remark, we are to love him and hide his faults, not expose them. I do not agree with everything he says. The issue is the condition of my heart. Is it now hard? I have said many, many foolish things in my life! God have mercy on me, a sinner. Christians, and others, who drive us crazy are not interruptions to us. They are the place where God happens!
So where is God? He is in Haiti. Let us join Him there as God enables.
Rev. Pat Robertson did NOT say Haitians deserved the quake. He recounted the fact that approximately 1/2 the population (liberal MSNBC verifies this – see link below) practices Voodoo which, as far as I understand it, is a de facto pact with the devil. If some Haitians engaged in Voodoo prior to and/or after the departure of the French then it stands to reason that after the French left those who engaged in Voodoo in an attempt to drive out the French would naturally serve him (the devil) whom they called upon in a quid pro quo pact. The devil is the Father of Lies and even if the devil promised to drive out the French it does NOT mean that he promised to keep Haitians safe from natural disasters and calamities — or the devil said he would and lied.
“Out of this tragedy I am optimistic something good will come.” — Rev. Pat Robertson. Amen.
Other “Christian” countries, too, suffer calamities and natural disasters. The Haitians deserve calamity no more and no less than the rest of the world but if they collaborated with the father of lies than they increased the probability they would believe the lies Satan told them and likely suffer from them.
I am profoundly saddened by the tragic loss of life, limb, and property in Haiti.
Still, this tragedy raises again a number of very HARD QUESTIONS which we’re encouraged to ask, though I confess I don’t know the definitive answers to.
It is common to hear Christians proclaim, “Praise God,” or “Thank God,” or “God did it, not me,” when something good occurs to them, their family, their community or nation. I usually Amen.
But in light of events in Haiti I must once again ask these hard questions, beginning with, “Who do we attribute calamity to?” God, Satan, the shifting of tectonic plates along a fault line? I don’t know.
Can our universally and infinitely sovereign God truly be solely responsible for good and bad? Only the former? What part does Satan play in calamity and natural disasters? Do the truly innocent suffer? Are there groups of truly innocent people? Do those who engage in Voodoo never escape calamity? Only sometimes? Wycliffe Jean in Haiti stated today, “This is apocalypse . . . there are NOT tens of thousands of dead, but hundreds of thousands.”
God promised long ago never to send another flood upon the earth. Did this promise include every other possible calamity and natural disaster? It would not seem so. We read about Job, the Noahic flood, the tragic killing and taking into exile of the Jews, Ananias and Sapphira, etc., in the Bible. So, too, the Crucifixion.
I wonder. Should tragedy be openly spoken about, written down for others to read, and broadcast and commented upon by the media? I don’t know. What I do know is that the Bible records not only tragedies, some of epic proportions, but also some of the reasons for them. Even post-resurrection Ananias and Sapphira’s unfortunate demise is at least partially explained to us. It didn’t seem quite right and fair to me.
For reasons I don’t fully understand many of us think and/or believe that what is unacceptable and inappropriate as an explanation for modern day tragedies is fine, Biblical and “godly” for tragedies that occurred thousands of years ago to people long dead. Does this make sense? If so, why?
I understand it is much easier to accept a trait of God or a purpose for Satan that dates back thousands of years if it is demonstrative of anger, retribution, wrath, justice, testing, etc., than it is to accept in the modern era. In short, that was then, but NIMBY now.
Can we indeed have it both ways?
Note: NIMBY = Not In My Back Yard
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34829978/ns/world_news-haiti_earthquake/page/2/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-DvGDXqdhYg&feature=fvsr
Posted by: William J. Green // January 15th, 2010 at 12:58 am
Thank you Pete. This is right on target, and somehow it brings more peace to my heart as I watch this horrible tragedy in Haiti unfold on CNN . I asked a friend of mine, Darryl, who attends New Life Fellowship and who I consider a spiritual leader, how could God allow this to happen? Neither one of us could even fathom…I agree with you on PR—I think he needs to quietly retire.
Thank you so much for your words reminding us that God is a God of compassion and love, and He is in the process of renewing and transforming.
Posted by: Shawn Eklund // January 17th, 2010 at 6:45 pm
I have heard incredible stories of the praise and worship around Haiti just after the earthquake – many publicly declaring the goodness of God in the midst of calamity, holding onto His nature while natural thinking might say otherwise.
Many Haitians may be responding to this with more grace and understanding than those of us who are distanced (physically, emotionally and spiritually) from the tragedy.
Thanks for your posts. I love your final thoughts:
“Christians, and others, who drive us crazy are not interruptions to us. They are the place where God happens!
And, “So where is God? He is in Haiti.”
Posted by: Anton // January 23rd, 2010 at 2:41 am
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