Hurricane Harvey

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Hurricane Harvey Relief Fund

The Church of Christ at Marsalis Avenue will be helping churches and their communities recover and rebuild from the effects of Hurricane Harvey. Your donation will go directly toward Hurricane Harvey Relief Effort. 1 John 3: 17-18

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Hurricane Harvey has left the vast devastation throughout southeast Texas.  Families have been displaced.  Flooding has damaged homes and businesses.  Winds have blown down powerlines and traffic signals.  Recovery efforts will take months, if not years.  Some may wonder why God would allow a hurricane to impact millions of lives.  God has a purpose for the pain that is being experienced. 

God speaks during the storm (see Job 38:1).  God does not have to wait until the storm is over to speak. He can speak through the storm.  When God speaks through the storm, He is reminding us of His infinite power and supreme authority.  He controls the storm.  There is nothing that happens to you that God did not know would happen to you.  When God speaks during the storm, it gives us perspective.  During the storm God says, “I am with you and have been here the whole time, and have prepared you for this moment.” 

The storm reminds us that this world is temporary.  It is so easy for us to build lives on earth and lose our sense of purpose.  God will allow our lives to be disrupted so that we will refocus on building treasures in heaven (Matthew 6:19-21).  We are reminded that our lives are our most valuable possessions.  We should cherish our lives and honor the God who has given us life.

The storm leads us to trust God.  During the storm, God says to us, “Trust me.”  God has a purpose and a plan for everything that He allows to happen to us.  When we are in it, we often can’t see what God is doing with us.  Because we live in a fallen world, you can expect trouble, no matter how good you are.  Those in the body of Christ will have trouble.  Those outside of the body of Christ will have trouble.  The difference is that when you are a child of God, you have help in your troubles.  Often, God is allowing seeds to be planted in our lives so that we will grow.  God is using the catastrophe as the seed that will produce a tried, tested, and true disciple.  The catastrophe is the seed planted and a mature you is the harvest. 

​The storm brings us together.  This decade has been the decade of division.  Our nation is divided.  Our communities are divided.  Our churches are divided.  We have been splintered and fractured so much that many have given up hope of reconciliation.  But the storm has brought us together.  There are no Democrats vs. Republicans, law enforcement vs. communities, Black vs. White.  The focus is about people helping people.  The storm has forced us to reevaluate what is important.  It is my prayer that we do not lose the lessons from the storm once the waters subside and homes are rebuilt.