Through the battered windows caused by the severe hurricane Matthew, I can still see clearly to the cross.

Restoration.

While we are restoring the normal daily functions back into our cities, I am restoring my faith. This storm has caused me to see the power of my God. I am encouraged how He has used this as a way to refresh ourselves. I was and still am encouraged to see how many people came together and prayed to my God this past week. I am amazed at what God has created in order to bring us together in faith. Sometimes this flesh filled with darkness gets in the way of us seeing the Spirit filled with light.

It’s amazing that it takes something so powerful for us to check up on someone and see how they are doing. This is a reminder to myself to be more selfless in my busy schedule. This busy schedule is cloned in everyone else around me so there are no excuses. Matthew woke us up and made us reevaluate our relationships with people and evaluate our trust in God.

The power outage didn’t take out the light in His word.

Revival

Churches will be over-flowing these next few weeks with people asking God why did this happen or why God gave grace to them. “Whenever you feel tempted to ask God, ‘Why did you do this to me?’ look at the cross and ask, ‘Why did you do that for me?’” (p. 92)

Whether we traveled back to our cities to see our homes damaged or still-standing, we should be glorifying him. “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matthew 6:19-21).

The disastrous sights in my hometown and many other places call for us to revive or recover and improve our walk. Millions of people are without power, shelter, and food. This is an opportunity to not only give as Christians but to spread God’s word and not only revive our own hearts but revive this world and its people.

God has opened up so many doors and has allowed our eyes to see something far more beautiful than a natural disaster. The ability to minister, counsel and pray for people is on the rise. This is our chance as Christians to glorify God and save the faith in Christ in humanity.

Our faith has been restored and our hearts are revived. Glory be to God.

Thank you, Matthew. What a beautiful disaster you were.

“If we come to see the purpose of the universe as God’s long-term glory rather than our short-term happiness, then we will undergo a critical paradigm shift in tackling the problem of evil and suffering.” (p. 35)