Recently, we have been reminded that the earth we walk can be unstable ground. God speaks to this instability in Psalm 75:3: “When the earth totters, and all its inhabitants, it is I who keep steady its pillars.”
This testimony is deeply relevant in our current national moment. We have watched as two consecutive hurricanes—Helene and Milton—have ravaged countless towns and cities in North Carolina, Georgia, Florida, and Tennessee. Tragically, news outlets are reporting that Hurricane Helene caused a tremendous loss of life and around $50 billion worth of damage. The emotional, spiritual, and psychological costs of these disasters go far beyond any numerical statistic.
How do Christians respond to terrible events like these? In the aftermath of destruction, here are three considerations.
First, we weep for our world’s fallen state. Christians are a people who weep with those who weep (Romans 12:15). We grieve the loss of life in the Southeast alongside those impacted by the devastation referenced above. There is, we remember, “a time to mourn,” and mourn we do (Ecclesiastes 3:4).
Second, we reflect on God’s tender care. As Asaph modeled in the Psalms, we do not grieve without hope. The Lord is our anchor. He is our refuge in the storm, and He is a far more secure site than even the highest ground and most fortified walls. When the wind is howling, whether physically or emotionally, we lift our eyes “to the hills” (Psalm 121:1). God, and God alone, is our hope. He will never fail us; He will never let us down.
Third, we pray for gospel advancement. As we grapple with the devastation in the Southeast, let us continue to pray for the many families and communities that have lost everything. We pray that, even in great suffering, God will use these trials to open the eyes of all those affected to their need for the gospel of grace. Christianity is a faith of redemption, after all; even the worst things in this fallen world can be transformed for good—including the wreckage of hurricanes.
In sum, this is a time to weep, reflect, and pray. May Jesus’s words in John 16:33 bring comfort in these difficult days: “In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”