Ask around to see how grateful folks are for natural disasters like hurricanes and tropical storms, and you’re not likely to get overwhelmingly positive responses. You might even get punched in the face. Expressions of appreciation and thanks aren’t usually lumped together in reports of “catastrophic flooding,” “billions of dollars in damage,” and “rising death toll.” On the extreme side of things, some may even be inclined to resort to the old tactic of using disasters as ammunition in the war against any notion of a loving God. After all, how could a loving God, if he is supposedly capable of shushing the wind and waves, allow such death and destruction?
But, perhaps before we hastily jump to that conclusion, can we at least pause for a moment to entertain the possibility of good resulting from natural disasters? Might there actually be, even in the wake of such tragedy and loss, a reason or two for which to give thanks?
Allow me to suggest two such reasons. Now, you may not like them or agree with them, but perhaps they’ll at least widen your perspective on such things in the future. That may not be a bad thing since the chances of a natural disaster happening again sometime are approximately 100%.
So what’s there to be thankful for in the midst of a natural disaster? For starters, they’re humbling, aren’t they? For all that mankind has achieved – and our resumé is very impressive! – we can’t do a thing to thwart natural disaster. We can predict it. We can prepare for it.
But we can’t prevent it.
That’s humbling because it stifles our ingenuity and pummels our pride. It also forces us to face our mortality. Some are more OK with that aspect of it than others (even if they shouldn’t be). Nevertheless, anytime the reality of death and our own mortality shake us by the shoulders a bit, it gives pause to our head-in-the-sand tendency to avoid such morbid matters. Like it or not, when phrases like “rising death toll” creep their way into report after report, it may be about the only time folks give thought to anything beyond what’s going to happen in just the next 30 seconds.
The second reason to give thanks when natural disasters strike? I think we see plenty of evidence of God’s love. If you don’t, it’s because you’re focusing only on the before and not the after. The truth is, we often see the best side of mankind in the aftermath of natural disasters. Stories of sacrifice, daring rescues, heartfelt compassion, etc. – these are all prominently displayed when others are hurting and in need. Chalk that up to “human decency” if you want to (and then just look the other way when reports of looting and price gauging come up – not mankind at his best), but what if it is precisely through these actions and this behavior that God’s love is truly being expressed? If one must first experience the bitter to appreciate the sweet, then why shouldn’t God choose to show his boundless love in the wake of the world’s worst disasters? Why does God get all the blame for the disaster and no credit for the good that comes out of it?
Maybe, just maybe, we might consider giving him thanks instead.