WAS HURRICANE KATRINA GOD'S JUDGMENT?

Note: Two years ago Hurricane Katrina slammed into the Gulf Coast. New Orleans and many smaller communities were severely damaged as a result of the hurricane and flooding. Sadly, over 1800 people lost their lives as a result of the monster storm. As the magnitude of the devastation was slowly uncovered and responded to, I found myself being highly irritated by pronouncements such as, “This is God judging New Orleans!” Why is it that there seems to be a hunger on the part of some to see God pour out His punishment? It seems like some can hardly wait for God to be mean to somebody…and they can get to witness it. In the heat of the situation, I sat down and wrote a brief e-mail for my family on what I believed was the biblical significance of what was happening. This was the very first “For My Family” e-mail devotional and I have been sending them weekly ever since.


HURRICANE KATRINA
Was It A Sign Of God’s Judgment On New Orleans?

The simple answer is NO, it was not judgment! If that were the case, then God owes Sodom and Gomorrah an apology. In Genesis 18:32 God said that if there were only ten (10) righteous people in the city, He would not destroy it. There were not ten and God did destroy it. In contrast, New Orleans has been the home to tens of thousands of believers. I have personally been to several very fine and thriving churches in New Orleans and its suburbs. New Orleans is no more lacking in a community of believers than any other city in America.

I first visited New Orleans in 1968 with David Wilkerson. A few years later we held a citywide crusade at the New Orleans Convention Center with thousands of people in attendance every night; this crusade was sponsored primarily by the Catholic Charismatic Community. Over the years I have been to New Orleans close to two dozen times for ministry. New Orleans is not one of my favorite towns but I like the people, I do like Cajun food, I love café au lait, and I enjoy Cajun music.

If Hurricane Katrina was not God’s judgment on New Orleans, then what was it? In Matthew 24:3 Jesus is asked by his disciples, “What will be the sign of your coming and the end of the age?” (NIV)

In the next few verses Jesus lays out the following as signs of the end and His return:

· Deception will be rampant
· There will be false Christ’s and false religions in abundance
· There will be wars, rumors of wars, nations rising against other nations
· There will be famines, and earthquakes in a diversity of places

Jesus then said in verse 8, “All these are the beginning of birth pains.” (NIV) In the King James and several other translations, the word for birth pains is “sorrows.” The meaning of “sorrows” is that the pains will come with an increasing intensity and an ever-shortening amount of time between each contraction (pain) until the delivery takes place.

Hurricane Katrina; the tsunami in South Asia; earthquakes in a diversity of places; famines in Africa—these are all a part of God’s wake-up call to those who will listen. The birth pains/contractions that come as a baby is preparing for birth are a part of the announcement system that the child is on its way, that birth is about to occur.

Mark 13 is a parallel passage to Matthew 24. In Mark 13:8 Jesus answers the disciples’ same question with the same list and the statement regarding “birth pain.” And then Jesus says this, “You must be on your guard” (Mark 13:9). Those who are “on guard” are alert; they are discerning; they are prepared; they are not going to be caught unaware.

I believe that Katrina is one of the “sorrows” that Scripture speaks of and there will be more. When I see the devastation that covers such a huge geographic area, I am moved, and as a family we have helped and we will continue helping. But there is also a spiritual dimension to all this and I have found myself irritated at those who like to be called prophets and who quickly pronounce judgment on New Orleans (from the safety of their over-priced home or hotel room many hundreds of miles away). As I have tried to understand this disaster of a geographic size never before seen in America, I have come to the conclusion that this is not judgment. But it definitely is a sign that is pointing us to the increasing nearness of Christ’s return and the end of the age.

It is time to be alert, to be open and transparent with the Lord. Most likely, there will be more “sorrows”—possibly even worse than Katrina. God’s people who are “on guard” will be fine; God’s Spirit will walk us through those hours and we will experience His grace and power in fresh new ways. We are not to be fearful but we are to be faithful and faith-filled. We are not to be slumbering; rather, we are to be alert and focused on Him who can keep us in the midst of the fire, the flood, the hurricane, the earthquake…His name is Jesus and He’s my Lord and Savior. God’s people who are “on guard” are also ready to step in and help in any way they can: through prayer, through giving and through personal involvement in caring for the hurting.