West Center Street bridge over the Elkhorn River.
One of the main routes linking Omaha and
smaller communities to the west.

My heart hurts. I look at the picture of the destroyed bridge over the Elkhorn River, which for three years I crossed twice daily getting to and from work, and I can’t get my head around the destruction taking place in my home town.  It seems other-worldly, impossible.  Yet, I lived in rural Nebraska long enough to know the destruction of spring flooding, though never, never anything even close to this.

And I ask, “Where is God in this?”  Not, “Why did God let this happen?” but “Where is He in the midst of this crisis?”  He is always in the middle of any tragedy. I saw this first-hand, saw Him move powerfully and continue to move in the wake of the volcano eruption.  I know He will do no less in Omaha.

Dodge Street just wests of the Elkhorn River

Transportation to the communities to the west

will be impacted for a long time.

If it breaks my heart to see the destruction brought on by nature, how much more must it break His? He, who knows how wonderful this world was meant to be must be broken-hearted to see the suffering.  He knows that the havoc of nature is the cumulative effect of what generations of sin have done to the perfect world He created.  He knows that we, as mankind, decided and continue to decide that we have a better plan for the world than He did. And we reap the results of OUR plan for creation, and have the audacity to blame Him for it.

If you are not a Christ-follower, this will make no sense.  Only those who recognize their own sinfulness and have recognized the consequences of personal sin in their own lives can begin to understand that death, destruction, pain and suffering come when we think we have a better idea than God.  And if I receive the consequences of the sin I have personally chosen (God forgives my sin, but does not rescue me from the effects of my choices), how much more must the collective sin of mankind progressively impact the world he created?

So, I ask you, please, if you want to blame someone for this suffering, blame the one who started it all, who deceived Eve, and continues to deceive mankind into believing that God does not want our best, but somehow has a secret plan to hold out on us.  The one who Jesus told us will come to “steal, kill and destroy;” the true enemy of my happiness and joy.

To those who would ask why God would let something like this happen, I believe the Biblical answer is simple if unpopular.  Mankind decided they knew better than God how we should live, and we are experiencing the logical and natural consequences of that decision.  Just as any good parent might forgive the offense of their child, they ought not rescue them from the consequences of their actions.  It is through these consequences the child learns to make better decisions.  So it is with God.  He uses these natural disasters to remind us just how far mankind has deviated from His original plan for us.

Where is God in this? In the middle of it.  Trying to use this to show individual hearts how desperately they need Him.  We see him in the peace and joy of those who have lost everything, but can rejoice because they know there is more than the life we see before us now. (Yes, there are those people.  I can’t name them personally in Nebraska, but I know they are there because I have seen them here in Guatemala, in the aftermath of our volcano disaster.)

Where is God in this? He wants to be in the midst of it through those who claim to follow Him.  To reach out as “Jesus with skin on” to those who are suffering, to bring not just prayer and encouragement but physical, tangible help to those who need it. He wants us, as Christ-followers, to do on earth what we can to point those to the reality of who He is and what He has for us.  

As Christ-followers it is not enough to pray, though that is first and most critical. 

Here are some specific prayer points suggested by Cindy Borden who leads the King's Garden ministry in King Lake, one of the communities completely destroyed by the flood:

• Pray against fear, discouragement and loss of hope.
• Pray for immediate needs to be met.
• Pray for tangible expressions of love and encouragement--now and well into the future.
• Pray for compassionate relationships and many hands to help.

Pray about what God would have you DO.  Then do it.  If you feel a tug to do something, that is probably the Holy Spirit trying to move you, and I encourage you to obey.  Serving is never a mistake, and as James points out:

¹⁴ What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? ¹⁵ Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. ¹⁶ If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? ¹⁷ In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.~~James 2: 14-17                      

Let the church rise up and be the church in this situation.  THAT more than our words will show the world “where God is in this.”

Note: Many churches in Omaha are coming together with The Gathering Place (which meets in Valley, one of the communities hardest hit by the floods) which will be coordinating ministry and relief efforts.  For more information and to keep up with what they are doing go to their Facebook page.  You can donate online to support these efforts.  It is a great blessing to me to see the church in Omaha come together in unity.

You can check out the video of the community worship that took place this afternoon here.  If you can't watch the whole thing, watch 39:51 to 41:50--it's pretty incredible.