Why God? Why do bad things happen? Not just bad things, terrible, devastating things. Things for which there can be no earthly answer or justification.
Why doesn’t God stop it? He can. Many, including me, might say He should.
There is nothing quite like watching news coverage of flood waters so swift and violent they tear homes from foundations, break dams, crumple cars. It becomes even more surreal when, those of us who are so lucky (or perhaps the better word is blessed), wake up to sunshine, bird song, and coffee. And yet, mere minutes or hours from us, entire towns are washed away, major cities accessible only by air, and loved ones unaccounted for.
I read somewhere recently about the massive amount of water Hurricane Helene dumped on parts of Tennessee, Georgia, and the Carolinas. It would take over 600 days (almost 2 years) for a similar amount to crest Niagara Falls.
Shortly after Jesus preached the parable of the Mustard Seed, he and his disciples boarded a boat to cross a lake. A storm so furious that waves crashed over the sides of the boat had the disciples, quite understandably, in a panic.
Jesus was asleep and they woke him up crying, “Don’t you care if we drown?”
It was at this point, Jesus rebuked the wind and the waves, telling them to be still. When the storm immediately obeyed and went calm, Jesus asked the disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”
Jesus’ actions in this story tell me He absolutely cares if we drown. He cares about the things that hurt and cause us such turmoil.
And yet, people have drowned, their lives literally washed away with 40 trillion gallons of flood waters.
I look back at the context of when Jesus calmed the storm. He had just compared the kingdom of God to a mustard seed.
“Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” Matthew 17:20
I don’t know why bad things happen. Faith may be shaky, even shrinking to the size of a mustard seed one can barely even see. And yet, I find a small measure of hope there. God can work with a mustard seed.
Grace and Peace,
A.A. Wordsmith
Selah Vie! 