I make success and create disaster; said the LORD.

"I form light and create darkness, I make success and create disaster; I, the LORD, do all these things."
Isaiah 45:7

These words have never rang more true to the students at the campus of Union University than last night. At around 7:07 PM on February 5, 2008 a massive tornado ran through the campus tearing the roof off of Jennings Hall and destroying many of the dorms, in a word disaster. And this evil was not like the evil of terrorists bombing buildings but was from nature itself, leaving many to wonder where God was in this. How could God allow something so evil to happen? How could He allow some of His blessed children to be hurt and trapped for hours, where were you God?

The answer lies in the center of the storm, because we know that nothing comes to pass without our Father in Heaven knowing about it, for the LORD Himself creates disasters to call people to Him according to His good purpose. Jesus said “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?” Where are you God is the wrong question to be asking, the question we should be asking is God how are you going to work this for the good of those who love you? You promised you would in Your word, oh God, that you would never leave us nor forsake us, how will this work for your Glory and our benefit.

If we truly believe that the LORD is sovereign then how are we to deny that He was the author of this storm and using it for His glory and praise. We should be asking ourselves if we truly trust Him as supreme in all things. For even through the disaster we must humbly, for we are humbled by His awesome power, fall before Him and give Him all glory in this trial that He might increase our faith remembering “every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.” Please Father reign in the aftermath of this storm and rain down blessings and grace on those who You will because You are in control.

Grace and Peace.

The Lamentation of My Heart.

I agree with scripture, unfortunately it in a way makes me mad at God. Actually I am mad at myself for not understanding God, His ways, methods, timing, just Him. He loves those who He chooses to love and allows others to walk into hell because He chooses not to save them. This makes me extremely fearful because if the will of God is such that He did not choose those whom I love to be part of His flock then why did He choose me to be a member among them knowing it would break my heart to see them lost and knowing that there is absolutely nothing I nor anyone can in essence accomplish to save them. If He chose not to then they are forever lost and if He chose them to be part of His flock why have they not come when they hear His voice. I know the power of the Holy Spirit can over come all resistances man can make in their sinful state, I know that if God wills a man or woman to come to Him, while that can be resisted and indeed will be in our sinful state He is powerful enough to show them the right choice, and once they see it they will not be able to choose another because of the Glory that is God. I know I am being like the pot of Romans 9 yet in this state of flesh I cannot help it. It seems through the tears my broken heart is crying both "Why God" and "Blessed be Your Holy Name." It is praising the Lord for saving me, yet it would seem I am also inclined to scream that He shouldn't have chosen me and forsaken the ones I love. It is almost as if the more I know Him the more I love Him and want to know Him yet at the same time in the same way it almost makes me want to hate Him. It makes me question why a God who is Love would not love everyone because it is written "Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated." I am completely aware that the boldness of the statement is not that He hated Esau for Esau was a sinner but rather it was the peculiar thing about it is that He loved Jacob, whom by all accounts of men would have been considered a worse sinner than Esau. As such I too according to men seem to be a worse sinner than many of those whom I love and for this reason I cannot understand why God chose me for His own when there were so many better options out there. Oh the wonderful unconditional grace of God yet my heart laments for those whom I love that have no knowledge of Him. There is but one thing to do, and that is continue to share the good news of Christ, God in the Flesh, with them that perhaps in God's own time their eyes might be opened to the light, yet as it stands and from where my blurred vision rests I cannot see, I am a blind beggar that is simply praying for the lost whom I love every second, out of selfishness, because of love. Yet I know God works all things for His Glory, Show me Your Glory oh Lord that I too may understand why these things happen. Praise be the name of the Lord because He is Holy and wholly worthy of all praise, He gives and He takes away, He confounds the wise and allows the fools to see, Blessed be His Glorious Name. May He work in me to make me a fool for Him, for if I am wise I will never understand yet if I am made as a Child I may yet know. Praise be to God Most High, the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Jesus Christ.