Peace in the Path of Destruction

I originally wrote and posted this blog on May 1, 2011. Things haven't changed much since then. Between the tornadoes that hit Illinois on Sunday and the worst typhoon on record that hit the Philippines, I would say that our weather has continued to fulfill prophecies. No matter what you believe, you have to wonder what's next. Please pray for everyone who has been effected by these storms.

We have suffered terror and pitfalls, ruin and destruction. Streams of tears flow from my eyes because my people are destroyed. Lamentations 3:46-48 (New International Version)

Exactly three weeks ago, in the early evening, I was sitting home alone watching the clouds gather in the west. It had been a warm muggy early April day. The forecast was for severe weather; there was potential for a tornado. Not much happened at my house, though my mother, husband, and sister kept calling to make sure I was in the basement (which I was not). Had I been fifteen miles south, however, I better had been in the basement.

Yesterday, I drove through Merrill for the first time in three weeks and couldn’t believe the destruction. I had seen pictures on the internet, video on YouTube, but it just never really hit me. Not until I drove up Pier Street last night. Trees scattered like matchsticks, roofs missing, debris everywhere.

More recently, the news has been filled with storms that have taken out thousands of homes in southern states, killed hundreds of people. This April has seen more tornadoes than any in history.

What’s up with that, do you suppose? Has it got anything to do with that horrible earthquake in Japan or even the miserably long winter we have had? Do these weather patterns point to something?

Many would say it points to the End of Times. Those who have studied the book of Revelations say this weather, along with the wars and disease and economic issues we are experiencing are all spelled out in the last chapters of the Bible, that we are getting nearer and nearer to the second coming of Christ.

What does this mean to me? That I can rest in the knowledge that Christ is my savior and that He will come for me when the world comes to an end. What does it mean to you?

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” John 14:27 (New International Version)