God and Gustav

I know that the LORD is great,
    that our Lord is greater than all gods.
The LORD does whatever pleases him,
    in the heavens and on the earth,
    in the seas and all their depths.
He makes clouds rise from the ends of the earth;
    he sends lightning with the rain
    and brings out the wind from his storehouses. Psalm 135:5-7

Hurricane season has arrived. This evening Gustav is headed toward the Louisiana coast. Hanna is lingering just east of the Bahamas and a strong tropical wave has formed just off the coast of Africa. As you view the progress of Gustav through the Gulf of Mexico you will hear many predictions about what Gustav will or will not do. Sophisticated satellite tracking and imagery provide minute by minute reports about Gustav and what this may mean for the Gulf Coast in general and New Orleans in particular. At this moment the speculation is about whether Gustav will re-intensify to a Category 4 status before making landfall.

Close to 2 million people have been evacuated from the path of this
storm. Governmental agencies appear to be well prepared. The cable news
channels are on 24-hour alert. Yet in all of this I have not heard one
person in the national media mention anything about who really controls
Gustav. The landfall is going to be exactly where God has determined.
The wind speed at landfall will be exactly as God has planned. The
storm surge will be exactly the height that he has decreed it will be.

Gustav could easily be much weaker or much stronger than predicted.
Expert forecasters are saying that Gustav’s path could wobble just a
little and this would have a significant impact on the amount of damage
done. Yet, no one in the media is saying that God is behind all this.
No one acknowledges that the prayers of God’s people could result in
the path of the storm changing. The winds of Gustav come from the
storehouses of God.

The real lesson to learn from Gustav is that God is Lord of creation
and of the path of Gustav. This storm could have easily been a Category
5 and brought such immense devastation to the entire Gulf coast that
Katrina would seem tame by comparison. At this moment that does not
appear likely. But this is not the result of luck or meteorological
phenomena. This is the plan and purpose of God, who does whatever he
pleases. Parents, this is the important lesson to teach your children.
Gustav will go where God directs. This storm is but a small reminder of
the great power of God. May God bring all who are observing Gustav to
see the ultimate reality that the Lord is great and that he commands
all men everywhere to repent and seek him. May we stand in awe at the
power of God.

Shepherd Press