Why Would God Allow Hurricane Melissa?

This expert summary draws on recent discussions regarding faith, adversity, and divine sovereignty, specifically addressing the question, “Why would a loving God allow a hurricane like Melissa to destroy homes, take lives, and crush entire nations?”. It outlines the biblical view of God’s control over creation, the essential nature of self-denial in Christian life, and the true source of spiritual attacks.

I. God’s Sovereignty Over Natural Disasters

The Bible asserts that God is the supreme authority over all creation, including weather phenomena, offering comfort and assurance even when humans do not understand the reason for suffering.

God Controls the Weather

The fundamental truth is that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever and remains Lord over the weather, wind, waves, and walls of water.

• Never Surprised: A hurricane never surprises God and it never controls Him. God controls what a hurricane can and cannot do.
• Proof of Identity: When Jesus calmed a storm in Mark chapter 4, commanding the “Hurricanes hush,” He was not just proving a miracle, but revealing His identity. The observers asked, “Who is this that even the wind and the sea obey him?”.
• Divine Command: The Lord does whatever pleases Him throughout all heaven and earth and on the seas and in their depths. He causes the clouds to rise, sends lightning with the rain, and releases the wind from its storehouses.

Response to Suffering

When confronted by the heartbreak and devastation caused by storms like Hurricane Melissa, which shattered hearts and destroyed lives in places like Jamaica, Haiti, Cuba, and Bermuda, believers must remember that God has not abandoned or overlooked the afflicted.

• Trust the “Who”: Even when we don’t understand the “why,” we can always trust the “who”.
• The Power of Christ’s Offer: No storm in the world is strong enough to take what Christ offers: your identity, your salvation, or your future. While storms are devastating and waves can roar, Jesus is our destiny and reigns as Lord.
• Be the Hands of Jesus: God commands His people to “Comfort the brokenhearted” and “bear one another’s burdens”. Our response should not be “Well God is sovereign good luck,” but “God is sovereign here we come”. This means offering prayer in one hand and a hammer and a shovel in the other.

II. The Essential Mandate: Self-Denial, Not Self-Service

A significant misconception about Christianity is the idea that it is centered on self-service, which contradicts the explicit command of Jesus Christ.

Denying Self is Required

The whole mandate from Jesus is that if you want to be a Christian, you have to learn to deny yourself, not serve yourself.

• Jesus’ Instruction: If anyone wants to come after Jesus, they must “deny himself, take up his cross and follow him”. This involves self-denial, crossbearing, and submission.
• Servant Posture: Christians are signing up to become servants, slaves of Jesus Christ, and are no longer their own. Jesus came not to be served but to serve, and the great prayer of the scriptures is “Lord make me a servant”.

Self-Serving Versus True Faith

A person can struggle with sin, but a self-serving person cannot be a true Christian. True Christianity is recognizing one’s sinfulness and depravity and relying fully on Jesus. It is not about showing up at church on time, being part of a Bible study, or being an expressive worshipper.

III. The Source of Spiritual Attack and Temptation

When believers feel that “something is trying to scare me away from my faith,” it is crucial to understand the true source of spiritual warfare, which often originates internally rather than externally.

The Heart is the Greatest Enemy

Jesus Himself identified the source of evil thoughts and attacks: “For from the heart come evil thoughts murder adultery all sexual immorality theft lying and slander”.

• Internal Adversary: The believer’s greatest adversary is their own heart because out of it comes every fleshly desire that will lead them away from faith in Christ.
• Flesh vs. Spirit: The real battle is the war that goes on between our flesh and the spirit. Paul advises, “Walk in the spirit and you won’t follow the desires of the flesh”.
• Crucifying Desires: Every day requires crucifying the desires of the flesh and putting on the new man, walking in the spirit.

Assurance of Salvation

If a person has repented, recognized their sinfulness, and received a new heart and new desires from Jesus, they do not need to worry about some demonic attack that’s going to strip their faith away.

• God Holds You: The believer is not holding on to God; God is holding on to you, and He’s never going to let a demon or anything snatch you out of his hand.
• The Powerless Demon: The enemy is an arrogant, emboldened demon who’s actually powerless and a runt pawn compared to the internal threat of one’s own heart.

Fallen Angels and Destiny

When considering praying for fallen angels or Satan’s salvation, the scriptures suggest that God prepares some vessels for the display of his power and his wrath and they are meant to be destroyed. The purpose of fallen angels is to display God’s justice and wrath, and there is no comeback story for fallen angels.

IV. Navigating Culture and Belief Systems

The sources address contemporary issues, from political engagement to media consumption and the authenticity of scripture.

Political Engagement

Christians should pay attention to politics because leaving it alone only allows it to get worse. In a democratic system, citizens have the opportunity to elect new politicians and leaders to change out the “poopy ones” for good ones of faith and character. Failing to participate means living under tyranny and having no moral ground to stand on when the world crumbles.

Music and Media

Regarding media consumption, the point is that you can’t stop evil from coming to you. Evil movies, evil people, and even the news can get into your head.

• Heavy Metal Music: The nature of heavy metal music is not inherently satanic, as God thunders with heavy hail and rain and lightning and storms. The focus should be on listening to the words and the music itself.
• The Remedy: The antidote to evil is to focus your mind on the things that God says: whatever is true, noble, right, good, and praiseworthy.

The Authority of Scripture

There are no missing books of the Bible. The Bible is a library of 66 books (the canon of scripture). Books like the Gospel of Thomas are considered spurious gospels—fake impostors that add kooky stories and doctrines contradicting the real books. The correct books were authenticated based on specific qualifications, including authorship by an eyewitness.