The Windle's

For some time now, Parker has written a weekly devotion. This week his devotion is written about the devastating tornado that rampaged through Tuscaloosa. He says well what I cannot:

dev175-for Tuscaloosa
by Parker Windle on Saturday, April 30, 2011 at 5:58am

“And the Lord restored the fortunes of Job, when he had prayed for his friends. And the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before.”


Job 42:10

The last few days I have helplessly poured over the news and facebook looking at devastating photos from Alabama. Tuscaloosa. The town that I call home, was pounded by a violent tornado on Thursday, leaving a mile wide trail of destruction where formally sat houses of friends, restaurants that I enjoyed, and churches that were dear to my heart, and barely missing the hospital where I was born. As I gazed at these photos, my heart was broken at seeing these places, that were once so valuable to me, now reduced to a pile of worthless rubble.

It is at is such times as this that the book of Job is meant to be read. During times of peace and prosperity, we can analyze the conversations of Job and his friends with a haughty air. We give explanations on behalf of God, trying to answer the all-important “why” question that people ask when their souls are overwhelmed with the depths of woe. But when we are in the midst of the storm, these proud answers do not suffice. Although surely my friends and family in Tuscaloosa are asking the “why” question after each body they dig up from the rubble, they will never be satisfied by the arrogant answers. God does not need these answers. God’s ways do not need to be defended. They need to be trusted.

Job’s friends took the road of conventional wisdom - if you are being punished, it is because you have sinned. While we certainly see in the scriptures that God sometimes uses natural disasters to punish sin, we do not see that as being the case all the time. And, in the case of Job, we know that this conventional wisdom of Job’s friends was not only incorrect, but was despicable in the mind of the Lord. Man’s reasoning ability is unable to account for the works of the Lord.

The temptation is to either give up God’s sovereignty or God’s goodness. People would like to either say that God did not cause this to happen or that he doesn’t love people enough to stop it. Yet, in Job, God does not leave either of these positions as an option. Job, who God loves, was chastised because he doubted God’s sovereignty. “Shall a faultfinder contend with the Almighty? He who argues with God, let him answer it.”

“Then Job answered the Lord, and said: ‘Behold, I am of small account; what shall I answer you? I lay my hand on my mouth.’”

For the moment, we will have to be content without an answer to why my hometown lays in ruins. We are in a position where trust is necessary, and thankfully we have One who is worthy of our trust and who can relate to us in our tears. Just a few days before this tornado brought its worst, the churches of Tuscaloosa met together to remember the time when God suffered for us. They broke bread and drank wine in memory of the Savior that wept over the cup that he would have to drink. Tears are part of what it means to be human in a fallen world. The eyes of God cried tears just like our eyes do. The fact that the sovereign King chose tears tells me that He can be trusted.

Because of His sufferings, eternal life is promised. On account of His afflictions, tears will never be the final emotion. The tears of Tuscaloosa will be turned back into praise soon enough, and therein lies the beauty of the gospel. There could never be any suffering so grave that it would keep the church from praising the One whose wounds healed them.

This Sunday morning in Tuscaloosa there will surely be many “whys” in the hearts of the churches of Tuscaloosa, some of whom will be meeting in new places because of the destruction of their sanctuary. Yet drowning out these “whys” there will be a melody. The great hymns of old will ring through the city like a like a mighty choir ready to welcome in their King. The organs will blast their chords and the drums will bang out the rhythm of a triumphal Savior who has already conquered the death that is staring them in the face. The people from different races, backgrounds, and denominations will unite their voices in harmony in awe of the One who is as sovereign over the storms and as He is over the cross. Why will they do this? Because there will never be a tornado strong enough to keep the church from praising their God.

Alabama, I love you. You are in my prayers, and I will be singing with you this Sunda