Earthquakes are never good for humanity, except for one that rocked Turkey in 1999.
Turkey and Greece maintained an outspoken feud, with the Greek foreign minister calling the Turks “thieves and rapists,” and the Turks symbolically bayonetting actors dressed as Greek soldiers and desecrating the Greek flag.
That changed in 1999. When the earthquake hit, Greece sent rescue crews and financial aid.
A month later, an earthquake hit Athens, and the Turks responded in kind. For the first time in 25 years, Greek ships were allowed to dock in Turkish ports.
Something good came out of all the trouble that surrounded them.
Job 1:1 starts off describing Job as blameless and upright, a man who feared God and turned away from evil.
Yet an earthquake ripped his life apart. Where was his joy to be found?
John the Revelator was imprisoned on the island of Patmos because of his testimony about Jesus. It didn’t seem fair for his world to have crumbled and brought him so low.
Even so, we have a brighter future. Disaster may have ripped that which was special from us, but something good can come from the worst of catastrophes.
Romans 10:9 tells us:
“If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”
How bad is our life? Are we mired in sin? Are we blackened with the muck of the world? We have an answer, and it is found in our Lord.
1 Corinthians 1:30 points to our salvation:
“And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption.”
Being human is messy. Earthquakes will happen, and it’s easy to wallow in our despair. Rather, we should send aid to those in need, and accept help when our walls crumble around us.
Our help comes in Jesus. With him at our side, we will find our joy in our time of trouble.
Job clung to the truth he saw in God, and he received more at the end than he had at the beginning. John the Revelator is revered today as a prophet among prophets.
There’s no telling what wonderful things God has in store for us, if we let him guide us in our time of need.
It’s the grace that comes out of our troubles that helps others find Jesus in us.
Copyright © 2015 MyChurchNotes.net
Originally Published 8-05-15 in Hope