Tsunami solace

The headlines are becoming less common now. The horror of the tsunami is receding from the TV and newspaper front pages - as we knew it would. Yet the suffering and the pain remains among those who have to rebuild their lives after loosing family and friends, homes and livelihoods.

  We have been - literally - overwhelmed by this disaster. The loss of life, the extent of the destruction and the size of the response to the Aid Appeal have all been beyond our experience and imagination.

  The scale of this disaster has brought home just how small we all are in the scale of creation; how weak we are in the face of the forces of nature and how dependent we are on God for our survival and wellbeing.

   The disaster has also bought to the fore the big questions of faith. Where was God in this disaster and where is God in its aftermath? We ask these questions not just at times of great public disaster. but also when faced with our own personal disasters of illness, crisis or bereavement.

  We cannot dismiss God or assume that he is in any way absent just because bad things are happening in ways or on a scale that we cannot comprehend.

  We cannot double guess God, nor can we make assumptions on his behalf.

  'As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts,' says God. (Is 55:9 NIV)

  Job shouts at God in his frustration and anger because of his misfortune, but the Lord confronts Job, asking: 'Do you know as much as I do? Do you have the power I have?'

  A chastened Job replies: ‘I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know.' (Job 42:3 NIV) In all humility we have to accept that, in order to see God at work in these circumstances, we need to look at the events of life through the lens of God's greater plans and purposes - through the lens of eternity and not just through the lens of this moment.

  This is not to say that God rides roughshod over his creation. Both scripture and experience tell us that, although we may find ourselves in places of suffering and distress, we are not alone. God knows our weaknesses, our frailties, our fears and phobias and he sees us through.

  The psalmist asks: 'I look to the mountains; does my strength come from the mountains? No, my strength comes from God who made heaven and earth and mountains. He won't let you stumble. Your guardian God won't fall asleep. Not on your life!’ (Psalm 121 The Message).

  He sees us through by the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives bringing us the comfort, endurance and courage we need to cope with the present and face the future. He sees us through by the outpouring of his love that we experience through the sacrificial and loving acts of others. He sees us through by the promise of hope for the future that we are given by the resurrected Jesus.

  For those not personally affected, the memory of the tsunami will fade but the love and power of God will remain strong and true for ever.

by Graham Clarke.