God in the Wind

Tornadoes have hit.

Last night, tornadoes pummeled regions and cities of the south. This morning, many are celebrating over the election results of last night's Super Tuesday Presidential Primaries, while others are accessing their losses...stunned and grieved.

Network and cable news outlets have brought to our immediate attention the frightening details of those who have lost their lives as well as others who have lost their homes, possessions and personal memories in the devastation of their properties. This is a sad day...for Democrats, Republicans and Independants alike...our fellow citizens are in the midst of calamity as we web browse and blog. Where is God is all of this? What do we do in response to such tragedy?

At Union University in Jackson, Tennessee, a Southern Baptist campus of 3,500 students, took a direct tornadic hit! Initial estimates say that over 1/3 of campus buildings and structures have been totally destroyed. Students had been trapped in dorms in the aftermath of the storm. Hardly a car was left untouched. In the midst of the debis, there was not a single fatality as had earlier been reported. One newscast put it like this; "God was in the wind".

Yes, He was.

Here a some things that we might want to consider on this side of the storm and as lives are now in the initial stages of recovering and re-building;

Remember that in Christ, we belong to the Heavenly Father.

"How great is the love the Father has lavished upon us, that we should be called the children of God! And that is who we are."
1 John 3:1

God is always reaching out to us. He is always at work around us, inviting us to know Him, personally, practically and intimately. Maybe you have been introduced to Him through a friend, a parent, a classmate, a work associate, a neighbor...or through a 'storm' in your own life that just about blew you apart...and then you reached out to Him through the nail scarred hand of His Son...than hand that was waiting for your embrace.

Reflect on your relationship with Him that brings real and lasting change;

"Everyone who has this hope in Him, purifies himself as He is pure."
1 John 3:3

Sometimes we are jolted in taking life a bit more seriously. We come to the place that our personal assessment of our life agenda and priority is not just lacking...it is bankrupt! In the pursuit of personhood, pleasure and fulfillment, compromises, regrettable choices and sin...yes, sin, have stolen real life from us and left us with a broken life and a hardened heart. For the Christ follower especially, compromises, neglect and eventual sin have led to a starved spirit that has neither time or want for a Holy God or a holy life. Blessing or calamity draws our attention to the accountability that we have before our Redeemer Christ, and we are propelled to repentance and we long for personal cleansing and lasting spiritual transformation.

Restore your heart for the sake of others;

'If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?"
1 John 3:17

Imagine yourself to be a parent of one of those Union University students for just a moment. Anxious? Fearful? Relieved? Waiting? Overwhelmed? Praying? Amazed? Grateful? All of these and more?

No loss of life...that is a blessing and indeed a miracle! What now? How are the helpless helped? How are the ruins re-built...in the soul and on the campus? How are needs met? This is the time and the hour that those who say that they know Christ especially have the joyous obligation to offer of themselves...materially, financially, emotionally, and without a doubt...prayerfully. To say that we love God and abandon the destitute is a spiritual oxymoron! Today, maybe at this moment...stop and pray God's grace upon these students, their parents and the faculty and staff of Union University. Ask for His comfort to be lavished upon them. Ask that all material provisions for urgent and immediate physical needs be met. Offer your resources to give 'teeth' to the compassion that you have and express in a tangible and practical way.

Start with Union University...and broaden the circle of your prayer to God in behalf of those who have lost loved ones in the aftermath of last night's storm.

Don't forget to look for 'God in the wind' either. In the winds of adversity or in the breezes of blessing...He is indeed, 'God in the wind'.

AND, if you have a kid off at college...be sure to contact them today assuring them of your love and blessing them with your affirmations. Hey, I have three in college...one far away, one further away...one near by...not to mention the two others stretched from Virginia to south central Kansas...I better get to emailing and texting...right away!