As I watched the CNN correspondent wrap up his story of the morning’s events, the most fascinating part of the moment to me was when he threw it back (as they say in t the biz) to the anchor at the news desk. What intrigued me most was that he was reporting about the morning church services that the Haitians had held while were living out the nightmare. It wasn’t a mosque, it wasn’t a synagogue, it was a church report. On CNN? Interesting. To the chagrin of many, and the anchor at the news desk, as I would soon witness, those that were leading the service apparently were calling out to God declaring that the disaster was in fact God’s hand of judgment on their sins
I was stunned. And, the female cable news anchor was not amused, I could tell. In fact, as the on the scene reporter signed off and handed it back to her, the camera caught her with an almost irritated, dumbfounded look of disbelief. She wasn’t sure she liked the report and she didn’t know what to say. It was awkward to say the least.
As I continued to watch, it struck me: these people, in the midst of horror, were meeting in the rubble of their church, singing praises to God, reading from the Scriptures and stating publicly that this week’s trauma was God’s hand in response to their sins.
In truth, it’s not what we moderns are used to hearing these days. That type of talk is what the ancients believed and heralded. Not us intellectual, techno types. But, it was so. And the report continued inspite of the oddness.
You can imagine my surprise, when I opened up my devoional for the day and read these words from the book of Isaiah 38:17:
Surely it was for my benefit that I suffered such anguish. In your love you kept me from the pit of destruction; you have put all my sins behind your back.
But it didn’t stop there. I read on:
1John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
1John 1:10 If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.
Mic. 7:18 ¶ Who is a God like you,
who pardons sin and forgives the transgression
of the remnant of his inheritance? ¶ You do not stay angry forever
but delight to show mercy.
Jonah 2:7 ¶ “When my life was ebbing away,
I remembered you, LORD,
and my prayer rose to you,
to your holy temple.
Psa. 40:1 ¶ I waited patiently for the LORD;
he turned to me and heard my cry.
Psa. 40:2 He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire;
he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.
With that said, myriads of Americans, as well as other souls from abroad are reaching out to this country, whose government never planned for, nor could handle, this type of catastrophe. God knew it was coming. And if His people in Haiti feel He is speaking to their culture and people, then so be it. But you and I know, those who survived this horrific event are loved by Him. And they are in our thoughts and prayers at this time.
Just my thoughts.
Yours?
S.
