Religion: A Pastor Ponders

Tsunami - A Word - An Event!

by Pastor William Jenkins

January 14, 2005

The question that begs to be answered: Why? The problem: whenever 150,000+ lives are lost there is no answer that is adequate. One thing I am sure of is that God was no directly responsible for the recent tsunami or any other natural disaster. Indirectly, yes, in that God created the natural laws that govern the processes that drive the earth. The earth is a dynamic planet and as such it is moving and shifting and changing. Whenever it moves, shifts and changes there is the risk that someone may get hurt. The powers that create the dynamics that drive the earth are far beyond our abilities to control. The best we can do is an educated guess to predict the shifts, movements and changes.

To ask, “Why does God allow natural disasters to happen?” , is to suggest that the Creator of the earth should suspend vital natural laws. The arbitrary suspension of natural law to protect human life would result in more chaos and a static planet that would eventually become uninhabitable. We would loose our home in this solar system. The beauty and blessings of this earth are often bought with a terrible price. The wonder of it all is that natural disasters do not happen more often. When they do happen, we ought not immediately suggest that God is angry with us and caused them to happen. God is more discriminating when it comes to being angry.

Where is God in all of this? In the hearts of compassion that respond in miraculous ways to rescue, comfort and relieve the resulting suffering. In the prayers that rise from the lips of people who add to the resources of food, clothing, shelter and money the powerful resource of faith. While God does not cause these things to happen, we can believe that He uses them to remind us that all of us on the earth are family.

At the end of the day, the mercies of the Almighty are with us still; though earth’s great powers shall work against us , we’ll trust God’s gracious, sovereign will.
Just pondering.

League City United Methodist Church is located at 1411 Main Street (FM 518), one block east of Interstate 45. For information, call the church offices at 281-332-1557 or visit the website at

HYPERLINK - http://www.lcumc.org