This is not the post I had planned on writing today.
But honestly, I just couldn’t write that other post today. My heart is too burdened right now as I’ve watched the flood waters rise in parts of my hometown of Houston. While it’s too early to tell what kind of damage will be done to Southeast Texas and Louisiana because of Tropical Storm Beta, my heart is already heavy thinking about the number of people who will be affected by this storm.
While one storm can be devastating enough, there are parts of Louisiana that were absolutely devastated a couple of weeks ago from Hurricane Laura that will likely be flooded again because of this tropical storm. They have barely been able to scratch the surface of cleaning up and now they will be faced with more flooding.
And in Houston, just 3 years ago, the flooding from Hurricane Harvey damaged 150,000+ homes. I’m not usually one to cry, but I’ve been on the verge of tears all days thinking about all of the Houstonians in this storm’s path who may have flooded homes and cars again.
The past few weeks have been emotionally exhausting. I’m ready for God to just stop all of these crazy natural disasters that have wreaked havoc on the Gulf Coast this year. Hasn’t it been crazy enough for 2020? But he hasn’t stopped it all. At least not yet.
And of course, there’s so much more than just devastating natural disasters that has made 2020 such a difficult year. They are only a few of the pieces of this 2020 puzzle–a puzzle that I wish we could just finish building already so that we can pack it up, put it in the closet, and never get it back out again.
Sometimes, friend, we look at what’s going on in the world, and we can’t make any sense of it. The tragedy and pain can be overwhelming at times. Sometimes we wonder, “Why, Lord? Why is this happening? Why are you allowing all of this?”
And honestly, we may never know this side of Heaven. We may not fully understand. As Isaiah 55 reminds us, though, God’s thoughts and ways are higher than our thoughts and ways. We’re not God, and our understanding is so limited compared to our great God who sees not just our teeny tiny point in history but who sees the entire grand scheme of eternity.
We have to trust that no matter what happens, the Lord is still good and his plan is still good. I’m not saying this trust comes easily, like a quick snap of the fingers, and boom, we can trust with no problem. But I know from experience that when we’re having trouble understanding it all, the Lord gives us extra grace to help us trust him more.
If you’re struggling trying to make sense of the pain around you or the tragedy happening to you, remember that God is right there with you, helping you through it. Psalm 34:18 reminds us that “the LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.” (ESV) He is our refuge and strength, and he’s always present when we’re going through hard times (Psalm 46).
While we may never understand, we can turn to the One who cares for us. He is our Comforter and our shoulder to cry on when the grief-tears keeping flowing. He gently wipes away our tears and holds us with his tender, gentle hands. We can rest in him, knowing his perfect love will carry us through any storm.
Pressing on in faith,
Jennifer