In a recent article I began by quoting one of my most frequent prayers these days: 鈥淥 Lord, please send rain.鈥� Thankfully we鈥檝e had a bit, not a lot but enough to cool the temperatures and slightly decrease the risk of fires in our area. As thankful as I am for the moisture, I鈥檓 also keenly aware of those who are crying out for relief from rain and wind.
I usually avoid commenting on current events but I can鈥檛 ignore the horrific storms that have battered North America and the world these past few days and weeks. From Asia to Italy, to India to the U.S.A., and even beyond, storms of magnitudes not recorded in decades have battered and smashed these lands and the people living there. Words like 鈥渨orst in a century鈥� and 鈥渉orrific quake鈥� are being used to describe the conditions; then, indescribable for even the most erudite person, are the numbers of people killed, injured and stripped of earthly assets. Whose heart isn鈥檛 touched with this kind of suffering? If ever we had the responsibility of caring for and praying for others going through these monster storms, it鈥檚 now.
Suffering is awful, sorrow sometimes seems eternal, and just because we believe in Christ doesn鈥檛 make us immune to natural disasters; what ever the sources of these storms, no one in their paths is unaffected by the consequences. 聽We鈥檝e all got the responsibility to do what we can to help.
Watching and listening to the news, I鈥檓 reminded of so many friends and neighbours who鈥檝e suffered other kinds of losses. While these don鈥檛 get international media attention, they also need our love, our care and our prayer support.
鈥淎nd this is what God says we must do: Believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and聽love聽one聽another.鈥� (I John 3:23)
