Why Haiti? Or Better Yet, Why Not Austin?

Another incredibly moving sermon from God -- conveyed through Matt, of course (see podcast from 1/12/08 titled "Following the Message, Not the Messanger"). Today we listened to a powerful message at the Austin Stone, one aimed to help give possible causes of the recent earthquake in Haiti. Recently, there has been press coverage of church leaders proclaiming 'the cause' of this devastating occurrence -- for example, that "God caused the earthquake because of Haiti's sin." Matt was quick to point out the arrogance of such a proclamation -- for a human to profess that they know God's mind is a bold move. However, we do know that God has, in the past, used natural disasters because of human sin. The most well-known of these incidents is the story of Noah and the Ark. When God sees the state of the earth in Genesis, He says, "Look! I am about to cover the earth with a flood that will destroy living thing that breathes. Everything on earth will die" (verse 17). In other words, what the pastor stated to be known fact is of course a possibility, but is it the reason? We cannot know.

Another troubling explanation that has arisen from the media is one which is best illustrated through a Twitter message that quickly was "retweeted" by followers. The "tweet" read something along the lines of "The earthquake was just a natural disaster; the little boy being saved was an act of God", referencing the 7-year old Haitian boy would was pulled from the rubble after being trapped for eight days. The problem with this message? The crucial element missing in this assumption that God causes only good things to occur, is that this notion is untrue, and to believe this would be sacrilegious. On November 22nd, 2009, Matt preached a message about our God being both Elohim and Yahweh, and to only worship the forgiving, loving, tender God would be an act of idolatry, as that is not who our God is. In the book of Job, the wife of Job asks "'I thought your God was good!'" (2:10), to which Job replied "'You talk like a foolish woman. Should we accept only good things from the hand of God and never anything bad?'" (42:11). For more on suffering well, listen to the Austin Stone podcast from 4/27/09, in which Matt preaches over Isaiah 45:5-7.

After firmly disproving the two statements about why the earthquake occurred in Haiti, Matt moved on to give three "take-aways" that help to explain why God would have caused this natural catastrophe. God uses disasters to force us to turn our gaze inward, upward and outward.

Instead of focusing on the question of "Why Haiti?", we should instead dwell more on the question of "Why not Austin?" The earthquake should produce in us a judgement of our own sin as opposed to making brash statements such as "God caused the earthquake in Haiti because of their sins." In Luke chapter 13, Jesus finds out that Pilate had murdered people in Galilee as they were offering sacrifices at the Temple. Jesus then asks "'Do you think those Galileans were worse sinners than all of the other people from Galilee?...Not at all! And you will perish too, unless you repent of your sins and turn to God'" (2-3). God's grace allows us to be alive today; therefore, we must respond to the news of the earthquake with humility and not self-righteousness.

The second result which God intended is for us to turn our gaze upward to Him alone. When Job's friends refuse to believe his innocence, claiming that the hardships which Job faced could result only from his sin, Job persistently attempts to protest his innocence. In chapter 38, the Lord "answered Job from the whirlwind" asking "Who is this that questions my wisdom with such ignorant words?...Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell me, if you know so much" (1,4). In chapter 42, Job responds to the Lord, saying "'I had only heard about you before, but now I have seen you with my own eyes'" (5). It was only after Job had endured many difficult times that he was able to truly see God in a new light.

Not only does God cause us to gaze inward at our own sin and upward to Him, but we are also forced to look outward at the suffering in the world. A line in one of my favorite worship songs titled "Hosanna" says "Break my heart for what breaks Yours." This lyric summarizes the last purpose very well -- sometimes God uses drastic measures in order to open our eyes to suffering that is occurring in the world. Matt quoted one of our worship leaders, saying that "Haiti was a humanitarian disaster before the earthquake ever happened" -- but did we know, or worse, did we care before? James 1:27 reads, "Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you." The generous outpouring of monetary and food donations to the poor, broken people of Haiti is a very real sign that God has opened up peoples' eyes all across the world.

After such a hard-hitting message, it was hard not to get emotional during closing worship as pictures of Haitis flashed across the display screens. I want so badly to be able to go to Haiti for a spring break mission trip, but I have been searching for opportunities online and most sources say that financial donations are much more in need than manual labor right now. Regardless, there are many ways to provide to the Haiti relief effort. It is also crucial to remember that there are many people in need in the local community.

I pray that this message touches your heart like it did mine. If you want to listen to the sermon, subscribe to the Austin Stone podcast on iTunes and get the message from 1/31/10.

In His name,
Ailee