What’s up with Hurricane Lee? This could be a nightmare!
Meteorologists are expecting Lee, still a Category 2 as of this blog posting, to become a Category 5 before making landfall. Like many other aspects of weather prediction, landfall on the U.S. mainland is still in question. But all the ingredients are in place for a major and dangerous hurricane. As the storm makes its way over the warmest waters of the Atlantic, Lee’s rapid intensification is widely expected. Somewhere, there will be perilous winds, tides, and rip currents.
It’s impossible to read the Gospel accounts without recognizing Christ’s power over the winds and the waters (Matthew 8:23-27). For that matter, there’s no way to deny His sovereignty over all of the conditions that are well beyond our grasp. I marvel every time I read the account of Peter and the shekel in the fish’s mouth (Matthew 17:24-27). God’s radar puts Doppler to shame. Our Lord is sovereign over every snowflake that falls (Job 38:22-30), and over every earthquake that rattles the planet (Psalm 68:7-8). And everything in between.
Hebrews 1:3 goes as far as this in its declaration of the absolute supremacy of our Lord Jesus Christ: [The Son of God and God the Son] upholds the universe by the word of his power! Apart from that, He’s not in control. Get my point? There is no “apart from that”! Sometimes we must boil down our theology to what Jesus said, simply (Matthew 24:6): “This must take place.” We don’t have to understand it, or like it. Some wars, and rumors of wars … and even hurricanes … must take place.
Perhaps we should marvel instead. Hurricane Lee is a vivid reminder that all Creation groans to be redeemed and renewed (Romans 8:18-23). A day is coming when a New Creation will dawn. It’s been promised to us by our gracious God, so that means that it’s as good as done. You and I are living in the “already but not yet,” and that’s not always easy, and that’s why we must live by faith. I’ll quote Os Guinness: “Human beings are finite and the world now fallen, and life will contain many mysteries opaque to the searcher … At times we see … through a keyhole partially … We always have sure and sufficient reasons for knowing why we can trust God, but do not always know what God is doing and why.” It’s a walk of faith to which we’ve been called in Christ.
Will we trust Him in the storm? Hurricane Lee points to an awesome Creator. God may use Lee for judgment, or for mercy, or for both. Lee will be Lee for a short time, but God will be God forever.
You and I must never forget. We must never forget the ultimate goodness of our God. While some hard things are bound to come our way, Paradise is on our horizon. Paradise, friends.
God is our refuge and strength. So, fair weather or foul, may we sing with the psalmist (46:1-3): “Let the oceans roar!”
Pastor Charles
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