God Has a Plan During Destruction
Amos 3.7"Indeed, the Sovereign LORD never does anything until he reveals his plans to his servants the prophets."
Jer 29:10-14 NLT - [10] This is what the LORD says: "You will be in Babylon for seventy years. But then I will come and do for you all the good things I have promised, and I will bring you home again. [11] For I know the plans I have for you," says the LORD. "They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. [12] In those days when you pray, I will listen. [13] If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me. [14] I will be found by you," says the LORD. "I will end your captivity and restore your fortunes. I will gather you out of the nations where I sent you and will bring you home again to your own land."
I drove through Concord, AL yesterday and today. The most devastating horror of the entire scene is not merely the destruction, but the fear of the unknown. What is next? How will the state and Southeast rebuild? The loss of familiarity haunts man the most. Times of uncertainty are certainly the most painful and trying spans of our lives. I think of the Israelites and all they went through when I consider times of great destruction and distress. Here in Jeremiah the Israelites have lost everything. They had been exiled to Babylon with no hope of returning to their homeland. Much of their family had been killed, their homes wiped out, their possessions plundered. Uncertainty loomed in their minds. And yet, through all of this, God did not forsake His children. He writes in Amos, in the prophecies of the destruction of Jerusalem, that "the Sovereign LORD never does anything until he reveals his plans to his servants the prophets."
Refreshing! God's plans are always well-thought and well-executed. His allowance of this storm to destroy lives and homes ultimately had a purpose drawn out in the midst of the wreckage. Like a Picasso painting viewed close up, we cannot perceive any meaningful semblance, but after we are drawn back from it a moment, the image is clear. Driving through the disaster area, little order aside from the government and charity efforts is visible. Yet years from now, when hearts have learned to heal, when homes have been rebuilt, when order is restored, we will step back and recognize some wonderful, blindingly obvious facet of God's plan that He had all along. Trust in Him. I promise from experience in a situation such as this, He has wonderful things planned!
In times like these, it's especially difficult to see that God has a plan, and it's even harder to say that the destruction seen in the last month was a part of that plan, especially when I was fortunate enough to not be affected directly by the devastation.
ReplyDeleteBut that doesn't mean that He was careless or that the destruction was meaningless. The affected areas have pulled together like never before, and a sense of community that crosses religion, race, age, gender, and creed has cropped up in the face of trying times. Is it sad to see families grieving and homes laid to waste? Of course it is. Is it all for the greater good? As hard as it is to say right now (and as hard as it is for some to believe), God assures us that it is.
We have to have faith in that, but faith without action is meaningless. We can put our faith into action by helping to make a difference and not just sitting on our hands waiting for God's plan to reveal itself. God works through us, and if we are the only Jesus some people will ever meet, we have to be overflowing with love and compassion.
- Derrick