God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble. So we will not fear when earthquakes come and the mountains crumble into the sea. Psalm 46:1-2
Where is God in this world’s disasters?
In the immediate aftermath of earthquakes that brought destruction across southern and central Turkey, rescue workers scrambled to pull people from the rubble, knowing that they could likely only survive a day or so. If injured, they might only have hours.
A crew of rescue workers, no doubt overwhelmed by their task, went building to building, searching for any sign of survivors. Suddenly, a woman appeared and begged them to rescue her two sons. She led them to a building off their path and showed them exactly where she said the two young boys were trapped. After frantically digging among the rubble, they found the two boys, who were relieved beyond belief to be free.
The aid workers began looking for the boys’ mother but strangely couldn’t find her. The boys then told them that their mother had died years ago. The baffled crew could only marvel at the miracle, one of many they had seen in the turmoil.
Stories like these can be hard to understand. God’s miraculous work is evident, even in our imperfect and fallen world, filled with sin and brokenness. Our world is often dangerous, and we aren’t insulated from the terrible things that sometimes happen to everyone.
The Bible’s Psalm 46 tells us: “God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble. So we will not fear when earthquakes come and the mountains crumble into the sea” (Psalm 46:1-2). The Bible doesn’t say that earthquakes, wars, and troubles will never come. Just the opposite! But Jesus promises that He will be our refuge. He is in the rubble, and we can run to the fortress of His sure love, even on the dark days that come.
