Wildfires!
Five active wildfires have ravished LA County. 10,000 homes and businesses have gone up in flames, causing billions in damage. 10 lives have been lost and 180,000 left homeless.
“Where is God in this?”
Christians believe that God is sovereign, that He is in control. Jesus reassured us that even a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without our Heavenly Father caring about it. So what about these fires? Does God care more about a sparrow learning to fly than people in California?
Jesus did not say that the Father would keep the sparrow from falling. In fact, Jesus told us that we will have great difficulty in this world (John 16:33). Tragedy was also a reality of life when Jesus was on the earth and He didn’t prevent it all. There were fires, tornadoes, volcanoes, and earthquakes then too. He did calm the storm one time. But there were a lot of storms in Israel. He didn’t calm all of them.
So why doesn’t He intervene?
In the Book of Genesis, God gave responsibility to care for the earth to Adam in Eden. Adam and Eve turned it over to God’s enemy, Satan, when they gave into his enticement. Sin entered the picture and this world came under the evil one's domain, and corruption over all of creation ensued. That’s why Jesus referred to Satan as “the god of this world."
Today, we live in a fallen world, ruled by the enemy of God. Jesus paid the ransom necessary for our reconciliation and this world’s redemption (Romans 8). He could retake and remake the world right now without all of the evil, natural disasters, and suffering. All of that, being under His sovereignty, could be dealt with in an instant, and it will be someday.
But the Apostle Peter said that God is holding out to give opportunity for more people to respond to His offer of salvation (2 Peter 3:9). Because of His mercy, He is patient. In the meantime, we live in a world that is filled with very real trouble, because it is under another temporary ruler.
The Lord does not leave us alone in it, however. He promised to be present with us and to walk with us through our greatest trials. But our promise of deliverance will be realized in the next world, not in this one.
So, where is God in this? Evil is best defined by what is left over when God is not there. This is a world that is under the devil's domain. God does intervene on rare occasions, but out of respect for human choice, He allows the corruption of sin to work its way to its logical conclusion. The trouble in this world, including natural disasters, is the result.
If you look to Him in the middle of it, He would love to reveal Himself to you.