NATURE UPHEAVALS

From My Perspective - -

The news gives and shows vivid examples of the devastation in Florida with rain measuring upwards of 30 inches and the resulting flooding – while in the Western States – raging fires are destroying forests, wildlife, homes. The upheaval in the lives of people is incalculable and the overwhelming cost in terms of possessions and property is immeasurable. One’s heart goes out to those who are facing such challenging and devastating days and moments. While it would be presumptive to speculate regarding “why” some of these tragic events are occurring, there can be some lessons learned during and from Nature Upheavals.

There was a time when a people who had been enslaved for a long time were about to be delivered from their bondage. How can an indentured people know and find freedom from their oppression – deliverance from their enslavement. The government that had held them captive and was benefitting from their forced labor would not voluntarily set them free. How could they be delivered? How would deliverance occur? Who would intervene to help them? One gets the sense that divine Intervention is the only way and means for the impossible to become possible. It is not surprising that the Lord would clearly state His Plan and His Purpose for His People – Exodus 6:6-7 - "Therefore, say to the Israelites: I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. I will free you from being slaves to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment. I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians.” Will Pharaoh be willing and enthused  and respond immediately? The answer is: “No!” It would require ten plagues of increasing intensity before he would release the people – but even then – he had second thoughts and sent his army after them to prevent their access and deliverance into Canaan.

There is a very stern warning issued by the Lord in Jeremiah 6:9-19 – “This is what the Lord Almighty says…To whom can I speak and give warning? Who will listen to me? Their ears are closed so they cannot hear. The word of the Lord is offensive to them; they find no pleasure in it. But I am full of the wrath of the Lord, and I cannot hold it in…their houses will be turned over to others, together with their fields and their wives, when I stretch out my hand against those who live in the land…From the least to the greatest, all are greedy for gain; prophets and priests alike, all practice deceit. They dress the wound of my people as though it were not serious. 'Peace, peace,' they say, when there is no peace. Are they ashamed of their loathsome conduct? No, they have no shame at all; they do not even know how to blush…This is what the Lord says: Stand at the crossroads and look…ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls. But you said, We will not walk in it. I appointed watchmen over you and said, Listen to the sound of the trumpet! But you said, We will not listen. Therefore hear, O nations…Hear, O earth: I am bringing disaster on this people, the fruit of their schemes, because they have not listened to my words and have rejected my law…”

Could it be that Nature Upheavals in our day – drought in the Southwest, raging fires in the Northwest, floods in the Southeast – are intended as the Lord’s means to regain the attention of a society and culture that has ignored Him and His Word and His Purpose? Could it be that the Lord is speaking to our nation and world today in a similar way as in the day of Jeremiah? Does this word spoken by Jeremiah – “Are they ashamed of their loathsome conduct? No, they have no shame at all; they do not even know how to blush” – describe our nation and culture today? The answer should be – “YES!” As real people in real time are suffering catastrophes and as they flee to safety - one will often hear the utterance of the phrase – “Oh, my God!” If only, the “Oh, my God” would translate over to repentance and a return to the Lord – the losses could become victories, and the disasters could become blessings. The other “if only” – why does it have to  take calamity for one to call on God? Consider these things with me!