Is There a Word from God

The following is in response to the flash flood in central Texas over the July 4 weekend.

When Tragedy Strikes: The Flooding in Central Texas

The news of the flash flood in central Texas is horrific. The rising and rushing water in Kerr County has claimed the lives of at least 132 people, including 27 children and counselors attending a summer camp along the Guadalupe River. The story of the flood continues to unfold with each passing day. The pictures of children enjoying friends and camp together, the desperation of individuals looking for loved ones, alongside the indescribable destruction of the land and property, are overwhelming and incomprehensible.

The First Response to Pain Is Often a Question

Sometimes the first response to overwhelming pain is a question. Most of us know what that is like. The questions began late Friday as the images of the news passed through social media and television. The media, local leaders, and all of us have asked question after question, stumbling through trying to make sense of a major disaster.

When the news began to overtake social media, the first question that ran through my mind was, “What is happening?” Although I had seen similar scenes in Wheeling, Welch, and Pikeville in recent weeks, my question was, “What is happening?” The images were unbelievable.

My second question came when I remembered I have a friend who has retired to the hill country in Texas. When I realized where the flooding was taking place, I asked “Who?” Who is missing? Who has been killed? Not knowing “who” is involved creates anxiety, especially when we are the ones looking and waiting.
   
Another question I have heard over and over since Friday is “How?” How could this happen? I have listened as people have tried to make sense out of a senseless situation.

Asking “Why?” in the Face of Disaster

As the terrible finality has begun to sink in, the question has been “Why?”  Why did this happen? Fingers are being pointed at weather predictions and at people not paying attention to weather reports. We fallen human beings, tend to make situations worse when we ask “why” in an accusatory way. I am sure we will hear “how and why this happened” after serious investigations of weather patterns, river water levels, and the amount of rain that fell in a short period of time.

Is There Any Word from God?

Sometimes the first response to overwhelming pain is a question.  Since Friday evening, images of rushing water, floating buildings, twisted trees, piles of debris, and images of children have created question marks in our minds.

I can only imagine what other questions are out there.  The question I now have is this…”is there any word from God?”  As we move from the immediate crisis to more lingering reflection, what does God have to say about all this?

As you know, social media and news agencies across the nation say this is a terrible tragedy. I am sure we all can agree. The question is, is there any word from God?  I hear it being said that the world shares in the grief of this loss.

Even Mexico has sent first responders and search personnel to assist the flood victims. But the question remains: is there any word from God?  We keep expressing our pain as we tell the stories from our perspectives. It is all therapeutic and necessary.  But is there any word from God?

What Does God Say in Moments Like These?

What is God’s word for broken bodies and broken hearts?
   
As I pray for those who have lost their lives, for those who are still missing, for the families experiencing grief, I try to listen to what God might be saying. I believe God says, “Remember that life is fragile.” 

Life is far more delicate and precious than we assume. When we trust our children our safe, that our homes are on firm foundations, and the beauty of creation, we often do not consider how risky, how dangerous this business of living really is.

Life Is Fragile and Life Is a Gift

Life is a gift. Every day you live is a gift. In fact, every beat of your heart and every breath you take is a gift.  Every moment is a precious gift to be treated with tenderness, humility, and gratitude.
   
Not only is life a gift, but the people around you are special gifts from God. Some of the greatest gifts any of us have are the people we love and who love us, the people who bring joy and completeness to our lives. People are gifts who cannot and should not be taken for granted.

The People Around You Are Gifts from God

I think God says to us that our lives and the people we love are valuable commodities. Life would be richer and more complete if we treated both more carefully.
   
I believe God says that our answers are inadequate.  God reminds us that we are facing a tragedy that does not bow to explanations.  Not that we don’t want them.  After all, we are surrounded with agencies full of engineers and scientists who live to find and provide answers. Thousands of people have given their full adult lives to generating answers.  So, what’s the answer?

Why Hope Matters More Than Explanations

Over the past several days, there have been questions asked with voices filled with pain and tears.  “Do you think we could have done something differently?  Did the weather reports tell us enough to evacuate people? Did people listen when we forecasted rain? Did they know what was happening while it was happening? We want answers.  But are answers enough?
   
What I have learned is that answers are for the mind, not for the heart. What hurts at times like this are not our heads, but our hearts. Is there any explanation big enough to make us feel better deep inside?

Answers are good theories. But hurting people don’t want a theory. Hurting people want hope. Hurting people need something personal.  Answers don’t hold your hand.  Answers don’t cry with you.  Answers don’t pray with you.  Answers don’t hold you in their arms.  And answers will not sit by your bedside on a sleepless night.

The Word from God Is Not an Answer – It’s a Person

No, we need something more.  We need someone more.  And that “someone” is God.  God is bigger than our questions, bigger than our answers, bigger than our grief, bigger than our lives, even bigger than our deaths.

Paul writes to the church in Rome, “What then are we to say about these things? If God is for us, who is against us? Who will separate us from the love of Christ? For I am sure that neither life nor death…nor powers nor height nor depth… nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:31, 35).
   
And that’s it!  The word from God is not an answer; it’s a person. God’s Word to us is Jesus. God’s love in human form is Jesus. Jesus is God’s promise of “something more.”  His suffering, his death, his life after death are that “something more.”  Death is inevitable, but death is not ultimate. Ultimate is reserved only for God. There is only one mystery greater than today’s pain, and that is God’s goodness.

Nothing Can Separate Us from God’s Love

Because of Jesus, nothing can get between us and God’s love. Catastrophe is not God’s last word. Grief doesn’t have the final say.  God’s love is a gift that can never be taken from us. 

Whatever I face, I know that my final destiny belongs to God.  For me, that’s enough.

So, in the midst of the pain and grief of this horrific event, is there a word from God? YES! His name is Jesus. The human touch of God’s love. In the midst of the pain of the moment, the human touch of God’s love gets us through the crisis. Does that change the situation? No. But it does offer the hope needed to know that nothing stops God’s love. God’s love never goes away. 

Sometimes the first response to overwhelming pain is a question.  Thank God that God responds with an overwhelming Word. In Jesus, God holds each of us with a love that will never let us go. And nothing, absolutely nothing, can separate us from God’s love in Jesus.

What Can We Do? Respond with Prayer, Compassion, and Hope

So, what can we do? We can trust God’s goodness, which is greater than all the pain and devastation. It might seem shallow at the moment, but remember, nothing can separate us from the love of God we know in Jesus.

We can pray. Pray for those who are experiencing grief and pain. Pray for those who are in the midst of trying to take the next steps in life. Pray asking God to give you some direction on how to respond with love and hope.

As much as it might feel good for the moment, be kind and generous to the people who are working for rescue and recovery. Be generous with the people who are at the heart of the systems of forecasting the weather and predicting such storms. Let your words and actions reflect your human touch of God’s love.

I am sure you can and will find other ways to respond with love and hope.

A Closing Prayer for Comfort and Compassion

O God, for this day, for your grace that abounds, and for your love that never lets us go, we are grateful. Fill us with such love that we can find ways to respond with compassion and hope for those who have experienced deep grief and despair. Give us insight and wisdom to be the people you need us to be at moments like this. We can only offer who we are, so give us ears to hear, minds to understand, and hearts to respond in the name and love of your son, Jesus. Amen.