“A beast like no other”

“This storm is a monster. It’s big and it’s vicious.” This is how North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper described Hurricane Florence, the most devastating storm to threaten the Carolinas in decades.

The National Weather Service states, “This will likely be the storm of a lifetime for portions of the Carolina coast.” CNN is warning this morning, “Even for a major hurricane, Florence is a beast like no other.”

It’s not too late for God to intervene. If Jesus could heal the sick, raise the dead, and calm a storm, he could turn Florence back to sea or otherwise prevent this disaster.

We should be praying fervently for him to do so, remembering that “you do not have, because you do not ask” (James 4:2 NRSV). As Gabriel told Mary, “Nothing will be impossible with God” (Luke 1:37).

But what if God doesn’t answer our prayers the way we want him to?

The worst thing we can do

If you had a child with cancer and your oncologist could cure her but chose not to, your outrage would obviously be justified. If God does not stop this hurricane from devastating cities along the Carolina coast, many will wonder why.

We could blame the Fall since our sin led to a broken world with hurricanes and other disasters (Romans 8:22). But God parted the Red Sea, stopped the flooded Jordan river, and calmed the stormy Sea of Galilee–all miracles that occurred in our fallen world.

We could blame the victims, remembering that God used natural disasters to judge the sins of Pharaoh and the Egyptians. But he sent Moses to warn them before the plagues began; I know of no prophetic warnings issued to those in North and South Carolina. Nor am I aware of any unique sinfulness that would make them a special target for divine judgment.

When disaster strikes, the worst thing we can do is to blame its victims. I had a dear friend in one of the churches I pastored who was dying of cancer. I asked her if some aspect of her experience was hardest. She replied, “It’s…