“The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.” (Matthew 7:27)
Photo courtesy of ©iStockphoto/filmstroem
It is summer now in Brazil and as it is common during this time of the year, we’re having a lot of rain. A lot of cities have been suffering with major floods for the last few weeks. The worst of them so far happened in the state of Rio de Janeiro, that had the biggest tragedy caused by floods in the history of Brazil. The latest update (as of this writing) confirmed more than 600 deaths.
The number of victims may rise in the next days. First, because there are a lot of missing people and the officials believe that there are still bodies to be found. Second, because right now I am looking through the window to a dark sky in the middle of the afternoon. The rains haven’t stopped yet. Third, when we have floods, we also have the diseases that come with the water. So a lot of people that survived and also people that entered the waters to help others may have gotten infected.
We browse the channels on the TV and the sites on the Internet looking for some good news. The tragedy is so overwhelming that even the ones that weren’t affected (like myself) get desperate seeing so much pain and suffering.
The most emotional story I saw was about a man that had lost his wife and his son along with their house. A reporter came to him and asked his name, and he answered “Now I’m nobody”. He had just lost everything he owned and the ones he loved the most. He felt like he had ceased to exist. That scene broke my heart.
I couldn’t help but think of Job. He also lost everything he owed, everyone he loved and his wealth. Like that man, he also felt like he didn’t deserve to live anymore and he cursed the day of his birth.
His friends tried to “comfort” him by finding an explanation for the tragedy. They assumed that Job had sinned and he deserved what happened to him. They accused him and criticized him for not assuming his “guilt”.
When God shows up, however, He makes it clear that Job’s friends were wrong, and the only one who spoke truth about God was in fact Job himself:
After the Lord had said these things to Job, he said to Eliphaz the Temanite, “I am angry with you and your two friends, because you have not spoken the truth about me, as my servant Job has. (Job 42:7)
The book of Job proves that bad things happen to good people, and we shouldn’t lose our time trying to explain it or assign blame.
This tragedy in Rio de Janeiro and in other places around the world didn’t happen because people sinned and somehow deserved it. It isn’t the wrath of God being released on mankind (I’m so sad that I’m not just making up an example, I have actually read people saying that).
God himself said that Job has spoken the truth about Him, and in my opinion, the most important thing he said was:
The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away;
may the name of the Lord be praised. (Job 1:21)
It is up to the Lord to know why things happen. It is up to us to praise Him, no matter what.
Please pray for the victims of this tragedy and for their families, mainly the ones who lost loved ones. If you live in Brazil and want to help with donations, check out this site.
I am a college instructor, and this week, I’m teaching about how communication fulfills identity needs – we see ourselves in relation to others. So “now, I am nobody” makes complete sense.
Communication also helps us fulfill Spiritual Needs – I know who I am through Christ, and knowing that fulfills my identity needs, even if there were no one around me.
Wonderful food for thought.
Kristin, thank you for your explanation, you made a good point. We wouldn’t lose our identity because of Christ, even if we lost all other references.
Thank you for taking the time to comment, I appreciate it.