Hunting for the “Lion” in the Midst of Tragedy

Several times a day this past week, we’ve been on Facebook (in contrast to our maybe once or twice a week!), reading, listening, watching for news about the Philippines as well as lifting our heavy spirits to our God on behalf of our beloved country. We, along with others, prayed that God would neutralize its power as we heard of its pending arrival…but God chose to answer “no” to that prayer…and now we pray that the next storm brewing in the same area would be nullified…and will see what God chooses to do. Yesterday I was reading of how Jesus stilled the storm that found Him sleeping in the boat and I was jolted by the words “and it was completely calm”…He still has the power to stop a super typhoon in its tracks and instantly make it “completely calm.” We’ll never to able to understand God’s purposes on this side of heaven, but we choose to believe that He is still sovereign and has good purposes for all that He allows to happen. No doubt there will be amazing stories emerge from this typhoon of how God miraculously protected some, etc.—we’ve already read one story of a small boy who clung to the floating trunk of a coconut tree for six hours in the furious ocean and was washed up on shore…still alive (now pray that he can be reunited with his family). But, when you really think of it, God chose to not stop the single event in history that was infinitely more tragic than this typhoon—the crucifixion of His Own perfect holy Son…and then realize all the “good” that came out of that tragedy, including my own salvation from eternal hell. He does know what He is doing and can be trusted!

Here in Uganda, we did see the “Lion of the Tribe of Judah” this week in the testimonies of the three Ugandan men who are part of the WorldVenture Advisory Board. All three shared their testimonies during our WorldVenture annual meetings (one of them for 1 ½ hours!) and each one had tragic things happen that would cause others to walk away from God, but they chose to remain true and press on. They were very humble, but our WorldVenture Uganda director and others who know them eagerly gave testimony to how many people they have touched and brought to Christ as their Savior. Their determination to trust God in the midst of tragedy has caused their light to shine brightly and to challenge/encourage me/us to do the same. Despite what comes our way, let’s keep our eyes on the Lion of the Tribe of Judah…He is sovereign, all wise, all powerful, and faithful, no matter what.