After the Hurricane

AFTER THEHURRICANEA Biblical Response To CalamityBy Ajith Fernando

TThis booklet was originallywritten a few days after thetsunami waves struck

Sri Lanka in December 2004,resulting in the deaths of tens of thousands of people and thedisplacement of hundreds ofthousands of others. AjithFernando, national director of Sri Lanka Youth For Christ, wrotethat original booklet out of theoverwhelming suffering thetsunami brought to his friendsand countrymen. The challengesand encouragement he offeredwere so pertinent to the strugglesfollowing hurricanes Katrina and Rita that this booklet hasbeen revised to respond to thecatastrophes in the Gulf Coast of the United States.

Martin R. De Haan II

CONTENTS

After The Calamity . . . . 2

A Time To Mourn . . . . . . 2

A Time To Ask Why . . . . 4

A Time To Work . . . . . . 12

A Time To Pray . . . . . . . 16

A Time to Give . . . . . . . 19

A Time To Plan . . . . . . . 21

A Time To Be Careful . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

A Time For Comfort And For The God Of Comfort . . . . . . . . . 27

Managing Editor: David Sper Cover Photo: Alex SohScripture quotations are from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by ThomasNelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.© 2005 RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, Michigan Printed in USA

Q0723 AfterTheHurricane pp 9/26/05 12:42 PM

© RBC Ministries. All rights reserved.

AFTER THECALAMITY

WWhen cities, oreven nations,

experiencecalamity, Christians must look to the Bible for strength and guidanceand reach out with thelove of Christ to peoplewho are suffering. This

booklet is the result of myeffort to reflect biblicallyon what followers ofChrist should be doingafter disasters like thetsunami in Sri Lanka and the recent hurricanesKatrina and Rita. It is my desire that this would minister to anyonefacing a deep crisis.

A TIME TO MOURN

TThe Bible says thatthere is “a time toweep, and a time

to laugh; a time tomourn, and a time to dance” (Eccl. 3:4). The time in the wake of disaster is certainly atime to weep and mourn.

There are importantsections in the Biblecalled laments whereGod’s faithful peoplegrieve over what they are experiencing and ask God why He allowedsuch a thing to happen to them. Some of the laments are byindividuals who havesuffered. Others are bypeople who love theirnation and mourn overits suffering. There is anentire book of the Bible,Lamentations, devoted to mourning for thesufferings of a nation.

2

We must look to the Bible forstrength and

guidance.



Jeremiah cried, “Oh, that my head werewaters, and my eyes afountain of tears, that I might weep day andnight for the slain of thedaughter of my people!”(Jer. 9:1). He wanted toweep because of the painin his soul. Jeremiah’swords following thatstatement show that the weeping would helpbring healing to his soul.

As we struggle withpain over our family,community, or nation,expressing our sorrowwill help release thepressure and make usmore useful to thosearound us.

This is what happenedto Nehemiah. When heheard about the sorrystate that Jerusalem wasin, he wept, mourned,fasted, and prayed fordays until the kingnoticed that his faceshowed the signs of

deep sorrow. But after the period of mourningwas over, he got down to action and became a national hero whosebrilliant leadership styleis a great example and isstill used almost 2,500years later.

In the Bible, we find several ways thatpeople express theirmourning, like fasting (2 Sam. 1:12) and putting on sackcloth

3

As we struggle with pain over ourfamily, community,

or nation, expressingour sorrow will helprelease the pressureand make us more

useful to thosearound us.



(Gen. 37:34; 2 Sam.3:31) and ashes (Est. 4:1-3; Jer. 6:26; 25:34).We need to find ways to express mourning that fit our own culture.

Certainly fasting andpraying for a family,church, community, ornation is most desired in times of tragedy. In Sri Lanka after thetsunami, people hoistedwhite flags as a sign ofmourning. Every culturehas its own distinctexpressions of sorrow.

When Dorcas diedand Peter went to herhouse, “All the widowsstood by him weeping,

showing the tunics andgarments which Dorcashad made while she waswith them” (Acts 9:39).This type of scene is verycommon in Scripture.

We need to thinkseriously about how we can bring culturallyappropriate expressionsof mourning into our churches that are in line with the biblicalunderstanding of lament.

A TIME TO ASK WHY GRAPPLING WITH GOD’SSOVEREIGNTY Asking why a terriblething happened is oneaspect of a biblicallament. The Bibleencourages us to grapplewith this question bygiving examples of greatsaints who did this, likeJob, Jeremiah, and the

4

We need to find ways to

express mourningthat fit our own culture.



psalmists. Job struggled along time to make senseof what was happeningaround him. Usually at the end of a time ofgrappling, God’s peopleaffirm that because Godis sovereign and knowswhat is happening, thewisest thing is to keeptrusting Him. We see this often in the Psalms(e.g., Ps. 73).

Believing in God’ssovereignty at a time oftragedy helps us to avoidhopelessness amid thestruggle. We must rely onGod’s promise that evenout of terrible tragedyHe will bring somethinggood to those who loveHim (Rom. 8:28).

This perspective of God’s sovereignty may not come right away.Sometimes it’s necessaryfor us to wrestle withGod over this. Prayerand meditation on HisWord really help at such

times (Ps. 27). We maybe busy recovering fromthe disaster or servingthose who have beenadversely affected by it.But we must find time tospend with God and HisWord. This is why God’s

people must alwayscontinue worshiping Himin community, regardlessof how serious thesituation may be. Whenwe worship together, wefocus on those eternalrealities that remind us of God’s sovereignty.

5

Believing in God’s sovereignty

at a time oftragedy helps us to avoid

hopelessness amid the struggle.



The exposure to thesetruths helps drive awaythe gloom that engulfs usand gives us the strengthto trust God to look after us. Having beencomforted by God andHis Word, we then havethe strength to launchinto sacrificially servingothers who are suffering.

GROANING WITH CREATION We must remember that when Adam and Eve sinned against God,sin entered the world and the universe lost itsequilibrium. The Biblepictures creation as beingunder a curse (Gen. 3:17;Rom. 8:20). Therefore,natural disasters willcontinue to happen untilGod brings into being anew heaven and a newearth (2 Pet. 3:13; Rev.21:1). Paul said “that thewhole creation groansand labors with birth

pangs together until now”(Rom. 8:22). He then saidthat those who knowChrist also join in thisgroaning (v.23). Duringthe aftereffects of eventslike the tsunami andhurricanes Katrina andRita, we have clearly seenthe groaning of creationand of God’s people.

Christians must learn how to groan. If we don’t, when problemsarise in the place whereGod has called us toserve, we may betempted to run awayfrom God’s will and go toa safer place. Groaninghelps us to cope withdifficult circumstances.

The groaning that istalked about in Romans8 is described as thepains of childbirth (v.22).Women who experienceexcruciating labor painsare able to endure itbecause they are lookingforward to the glorious

6



moment when they givebirth to a child.

Similarly, our groansremind us of the gloriousend that is surely coming(see 2 Cor. 5:2-4). Thishelps us not to run awayfrom the tough situationsin which God puts us.We can endure sufferingbecause we know thatpermanent, eternaldeliverance in heavenwill surely come.

Groaning also takesaway the bitterness wehave over the pain wehave experienced. Wemust learn to groan inthe presence of God andHis people and not bottleit up inside. When we dothat, we give expressionto our pain and werelease the pressure that has built up over our painful experience.Then it will be difficultfor bitterness to grow.

Our groaning alsoallows God to comfort

us, either personally or through our friends.

When we are trulycomforted we can’t be bitter, because weexperience a love thatdrives away the angerthat is at the heart ofbitterness.

So as the nationgroans over Katrina and Rita, we also groanindividually. Part of ourgroaning would be askingGod why such a thinghappened, even thoughdeep down we have theconfidence that God is in control of His world.

7

We must learn to groan in the

presence of Godand His peopleand not bottle it up inside.



A GOD WHOGROANS One of the most amazingbiblical teachings aboutGod is that when wegroan, He groans with us(Rom. 8:26). God knowswhat we’re going through,and He feels our pain.The Bible says that whenIsrael was distressed,God was also distressed(Isa. 63:9). In fact, Helaments and mourns forpeople who do not evenacknowledge Him (Isa.16:11; Jer. 48:31). That’sso different from thecommon idea that God isdistant and uninvolved.

God’s groaning shouldnot surprise us, for wefind that when Jesus(who is God) lived onearth, He also groanedover the pain of thisworld. He wept overJerusalem because oftheir stubbornness andthe punishment that wasto come (Lk. 19:41-44).

He also wept at the tombof His friend Lazarus asHe joined with the otherswho were weeping there(Jn. 11:33-35). We cantherefore conclude thatGod is weeping withthose who are weepingover the losses from thetsunami and hurricanesKatrina and Rita.

God’s weeping givesus a strong reason not tobe reluctant to weep. Butmore important, when werealize that God groanswith us, it will be difficultto be angry with Him

8

When we realizethat God groanswith us, it will

be difficult to beangry with Himover what has

happened to us.



over what has happened to us. Thisalso makes it easier for us to go to Him forcomfort when we areperplexed.

IS THIS AJUDGMENT? One question that is often asked is whethercalamities such as thetsunami or recent GulfCoast hurricanes are ajudgment from God. Somepeople even assert thatthese are acts of Godagainst sinful people. Butserious doubt is placed onthe reliability of such aclaim when we realize thatthousands of wonderfulChristians were impactedalong with everyone elsein the affected nations.

When Jesus came into the world, Heexperienced the samekind of suffering thateveryone else did. Thatwas a key aspect of His

identification withhumanity. In the sameway, those of us whofollow Jesus are alsocalled to suffer alongwith people in distress.Recovering from adisaster gives all of us an opportunity to do justthat. It’s our privilege asChristians to be amongthose who have suffereda devastating calamity. We are to be united withthem in their grief.

The comments Jesus made about twodisasters that took placein His day are veryhelpful to consider. Hehad just been speakingabout judgment, andsome people remindedHim of an incident inwhich some Galileanswere killed by Pilatewhile they were in theact of making theirsacrifice. Perhaps theywere mentioning thistragedy as an example

9



of God’s judgment. Jesusdid not go along withtheir reasoning. InsteadHe said, “I tell you, no;but unless you repentyou will all likewiseperish” (Lk. 13:3). Then Jesus went on tocite another tragedy inwhich a tower fell and 18 people were killed.Again He said that unlessthey repented they would“all likewise perish” (v.5).The repetition of thesame warning in verses 3 and 5 adds to theurgency of the warning.

Jesus’ point was that tragedies should be warnings to us thatunless we repent we will face more seriousconsequences. In thesame way, events like the tsunami and recent hurricanes give all of us an urgentwarning. They shouldsober us and remind ushow vulnerable we all

are. Are we ready fordeath and the judgmentthat follows? Theseevents should lead us to bow in humblesubmission to the Godwho is over all, even over nature.

We must keep in mind that most of the statements aboutjudgment in the Bible aredirected to the people ofGod. Only a few are tothose outside of God’scovenant community. Weknow that people will bejudged for their rebellionagainst God. And we

10

Events like the tsunami andrecent hurricanes . . . . should soberus and remind

us how vulnerablewe all are.



must do all we can toshow them how they can be saved from thatjudgment. But it wouldbe dangerous for us tosay that a particularevent is a judgment of God.

Jeremiah prophesiedthat the Jews would bepunished for theirrebellion against God.And they persecuted himfor that. But when theywere punished, he didnot gleefully say, “I toldyou so!” He mourned for his people (Jer. 9:1).Actually, even before the judgment, he knew that he would beoverwhelmed by sorrowif they did not repent. Hesaid, “If you will not hearit, my soul will weep insecret for your pride; myeyes will weep bitterlyand run down with tears,because the Lord’s flockhas been taken captive”(Jer. 13:17).

We should followJeremiah’s example by doing all we can toprepare people to standbefore their Maker at thecoming judgment.

In the wake of adisaster like Katrina, people might be temptedto fix blame on someone.They ask questions like:Didn’t officials at alllevels of governmentknow about the possibledevastating effects of aCategory 4 or 5 hurricaneon New Orleans? Whywasn’t something doneyears ago? And why didit take so long for thoseaffected by the hurricaneto get potentially life-saving assistance?

While it might takeyears to get answers tothese questions andothers like them, may we,as the people of God, notbe guilty of neglecting towarn people everywhereof the coming judgment

11



of God. And may wesense the immediacy of their physical andspiritual crisis and rush to give them theassistance they need toalleviate their suffering.

A TIME TO WORK

FFor Christians, everydisaster is a call to

action. And becausewe are strengthened byGod’s love (2 Cor. 5:14)and empowered by HisSpirit (Acts 1:8), we areuniquely equipped tohave a huge impact onsuffering people.

When there is acalamity, Christiansshould immediately get towork. When first-centuryChristians knew of needswithin their community,they immediately gotbusy meeting those needs (Acts 4:34-37).

When the young churchin Antioch heard about afamine in Jerusalem, theyimmediately went aboutseeking some way to help (11:28-30). Inkeeping with thispractice, Christiansthroughout history havebeen in the forefront ofrelief operations.

I believe Paul’sexhortation in 2 Timothy2 about Christian serviceis appropriate to considerwhenever we findourselves in an extremesituation of need. Let’stake a look at thispassage and apply

12

Christiansthroughout history

have been in the forefront of relief operations.



it to our own situation. Paul wrote, “Share

in suffering as a goodsoldier of Christ Jesus”(v.3 ESV). He describedTimothy’s service assuffering. This statementfrom Paul shouldn’tsurprise us, becausesuffering for the gospelwas a normal part of hiseveryday life (see 1 Cor.15:30-31; Col. 1:24-29).This is the call to allChristians who are living in the midst ofsuffering—a call to sufferby serving their nation.

Faithful Christianssuffer in different ways as they seek to serve God and their nation.Sometimes the sufferingis subtle. For example, awife may need to releaseher husband to workextra hard at reliefoperations. This isusually a strain on themarriage and family, andit may also result in an

extra burden for her. But when we realize

that our suffering is beingdone for God, it will helpreduce the pain and takeaway the resentment.

Other ways of sufferingare more overt—likefatigue, lack of sleep, andfacing criticism about ourmotives and about theway we do our service.

In the verses thatfollow verse 3, Paulexplained how Timothyshould take on his shareof suffering. He said, “Nosoldier gets entangled in

13

When we realizethat our suffering is being done forGod, it will helpreduce the painand take away the resentment.



civilian pursuits” (2 Tim. 2:4 ESV). We may have to give upwhat others view asnormal needs in order to serve other people at this time. Extremesituations call forextreme solutions. Ourfamilies must be told thatwe all will have to pay aprice if we are going tominister to our nationduring a crisis.

Of course, family lifeis important. Nurturingour families is somethingthat can never be takenoff the front burner. Butthe immediate crisis maycause us to change theway we do things.

According to Paul, another aspect ofsuffering is working hardlike a farmer (2 Tim. 2:6).Elsewhere he said, “To this end I also labor,striving according to Hisworking which works inme mightily” (Col. 1:29).

Considering the urgencyof our call to share Christwith a dying world, we always need to beworking hard at servingGod while we live onearth. One day we willhave a grand rest whenwe get to heaven (Rev.14:13). But now is thetime to work.

Amy Carmichael, the great missionary toabandoned children inIndia, said, “We have alleternity to celebrate ourvictories, but only a few

14

“We have all eternity tocelebrate our

victories, but only a few hours

before sunset to win them.”Amy Carmichael



hours before sunset towin them.”

This is a time for us to suffer for people whoare in desperate need, to work hard, and to giveup some things we areused to having so thatthose who have nothingcan be helped. Not tohelp would be a seriouserror. The prophet Amospronounced woe to thosewho were living at easeand having fun whiletheir nation was in acrisis (Amos 6:1-6).Because David stayed home at a time whenkings usually went out to war, he fell into sin (2 Sam. 11:1).

In verses 8-13 of 2 Timothy 2, Paul told Timothy about the blessings that wouldcome if he suffered in theservice of God. Look atverses 11 and 12: “If wedied with Him, we shallalso live with Him. If

we endure, we shall also reign with Him.” Butthere’s also a warning:

“If we deny Him, He also will deny us. If we are faithless, Heremains faithful; Hecannot deny Himself” (2 Tim. 2:12-13).

These verses remind usthat the coming judgmentis an awesome reality.There is reward for

15

This is a time for us to suffer

for people who arein desperate need,to work hard, andto give up some

things we are usedto having so thatthose who havenothing will be

helped.



service but punishmentfor disobedience. Thattruth is part of theChristian approach to life that influenceseverything we do.

One day we will see that all the personalsacrifices we made wereworthwhile. This is whywe shouldn’t be upsetwhen others get thecredit for what we do.This is why we should be willing to do things

that don’t seem to bringus any earthly reward.No work is too small for us, for God will giveus the strength to be His servants. Disasters are opportunities to show Christian love.

A TIME TO PRAY

TThe most powerfulwork a Christian can do is pray.

According to Paul,effective intercessoryprayer is hard work (Col. 4:12-13). In OldTestament times whenthe nation faced a crisis,godly leaders called thenation to prayer, oftenwith fasting. Fasting took place in times of national calamities (2 Sam. 1:12). When a great multitude offoreign invaders came against KingJehoshaphat, he wasafraid. But his immediateresponse was to “set himself to seek the Lord,and [proclaim] a fastthroughout all Judah” (2 Chr. 20:3). We wouldhave expected him torally his army andprepare them for war.

16

Disasters areopportunities

to show Christian love.



Instead he proclaimed a fast and gathered thenation to pray. The result was that Godintervened and gave him a resounding victory.

However busy we are,individual and corporateprayer should be animportant aspect of ourrelief operations. And thebeauty of prayer is thatthis is something thatevery Christian can do—young and old,physically active andthose confined to bed.When there are national

or local crises, Christianleaders should call theirpeople to special times of prayer and fasting.

Here are some things that we should be praying about:• for God’s grace to go

to those who havesuffered loss of lovedones and property;

• that those who aredeeply traumatizedwould be ministered to, and that those whoare displaced fromtheir homes wouldfind a solution to theirhousing problems;

• that those who are in shelters would beadequately providedfor, and that thosewho are vulnerable to attack, like womenand children, wouldbe protected;

• that Christians would rise up and besacrificially involvedin effective service;

17

However busy we are, individual

and corporateprayer should be

an importantaspect of our

relief operations.



• that the church wouldbe revived to bringglory to God throughour actions and ourwitness for Christ;

• that God would guide each of us about how we can be involved in theprocess of healing;

• for the process of reliefand rehabilitation andfor the groups involvedin this process(especially Christianorganizations andchurches), and for the governmentauthorities who are responsible forallocating funds to the affected areas;

• that corruption, waste,a lack of planning,and anything else thatcould hamper reliefoperations would beminimized;

• for wisdom for ourpolitical leaders whomake policies thataffect the healingprocess;

• that there would beadequate supplies andfunding for the hugetask of restoring theaffected areas;

• that through thistragedy, the worldwould see the love of Christ displayedthrough His followersto people in need;

• that God’s glory would shine throughto the nation as never before, resulting inpeople seeking Godand finding Hissalvation.

18

The most powerful work a Christian can

do is pray.



A TIME TO GIVE

WWhen Agabusprophesied to

the church inAntioch that a faminewas coming to Jerusalem,this young churchimmediately took anoffering and sent it toJerusalem (Acts 11:27-30). Later, Paul organizeda fund to raise moneyfrom several churchesoutside Israel to helpmeet the needs of theJerusalem church (2 Cor.8–9). Giving to the needyis an important aspect ofChristianity (Dt. 15:7-11;Mt. 5:42; 19:21; Lk.12:33; Gal. 2:10; 1 Tim.6:18; Heb. 13:16).

During times ofcalamity, the people ofGod must give of theirpossessions to help thosewho have suffered. Paulsaid that we have aspecial responsibility

toward those of “thehousehold of faith,”toward the members of our spiritual family(Gal. 6:10). So our first

responsibility is to ourbrothers and sisters inChrist. But our givingmust go beyond that toothers who are needy.We are to love ourneighbors as ourselves, a command that appearsseven times in the NewTestament (Mt. 19:19;22:39; Mk. 12:31; Lk.10:27; Rom 13:9; Gal.5:14; Jas. 2:8).

As large sums of 19

During times ofcalamity, the peopleof God must give

of their possessionsto help those who

are suffering.



money and supplies arecoming from governmentand relief organizations,we might mistakenlyconclude that weourselves do not need togive because our gifts willbe small in comparison.But we must rememberthat the power of a giftdoes not depend on the

amount of money given. Jesus’ story of the widow’s mite teaches this. Althoughthe widow gave only asmall amount of moneyto the temple offering,Jesus said, “Assuredly,

I say to you that thispoor widow has put in more than all thosewho have given to thetreasury” (Mk. 12:43).

Christian leaders need to encourage theircongregations to give,teaching them that eventheir small gifts couldhave great power whenGod works through them.We need to give specificinstructions on how,where, and when people can give.

In Paul’s second letterto the Corinthians, hetook considerable spaceappealing to them to giveto the Jerusalem fund (2 Cor. 8–9). He alsopresented some clearplans about how theofferings could be madeand how the fund wasgoing to be administered(1 Cor. 16:1-4).

20

We mustremember that

the power of a giftdoes not dependon the amount of

money given.



A TIME TO PLAN

FFirst Corinthians 16:1-4 shows that

the taking in and the disbursement of gifts should not behaphazard. This principlealso applies to the reliefand rehabilitationprocess. Proverbs saysthat wars need to bewaged with proper plansand advice so that thewisest strategies areadopted (Prov. 20:18;24:6). This applies to the “war” on the needs of people. Much time,energy, and resourcescan be wasted because ofa lack of planning. Manyneedy people could missthe aid they should getand some could get morethan they need—allbecause of poorplanning.

Planning is especiallyneeded when we move

from meeting emergency needs to beginning thereconstruction process.

It’s wise for smallergroups to partner withothers. When we joinwith other churches and groups, we have awonderful opportunity to demonstrate the unitywe share in Christ.

Churches are oftengifted with willing andable people. That could be an importantresource to give tospecialist groups whohave the funds and theexpertise for relief and

21

Much time,energy, and

resources can be wasted

because of a lack of planning.



rehabilitation but do not have enough people.This is one of thosesituations in which theprinciple of Ecclesiastes4:9 applies: “Two arebetter than one, becausethey have a good rewardfor their labor.” Most of us are not equipped orknowledgeable enough todo the most effective jobon our own. So it’s wisefor us to partner withothers.

This may also be a time for us to show our commitment to those in need by helping other groups who are not connectedwith the church. We arecitizens of two worlds. So everything we do in both worlds we do forGod and for His glory (1 Cor. 10:31). The jobswe do in so-called“secular” institutions weare to do primarily forGod. We can consider

our job importantbecause it goes to servethe community whereGod has placed us as His witnesses. The same

principle applies whenwe serve the communitythrough relief andrehabilitation projectsorganized byneighborhood groups or the government. We should look foropportunities to join with our neighbors intheir projects so that wecan represent Christ.

22

We are citizens of two worlds.

So everything wedo in both worlds

we do for God andfor His glory.



A TIME TO BE CAREFUL

IIn 2 Timothy 2,where Paul urgedTimothy to suffer

and work hard, he alsourged him to be like anathlete who “competesaccording to the rules”(v.5). When you arerunning hard, it’s easy tostumble and fall. Sadly,many who work hard inthe relief process break some basic rules thatshould never be broken.So, when doing reliefwork, we must be sure to follow the basicprinciples of Christianityand of Christian service.

For example, in theoverwhelming situationwe may find ourselves inafter a calamity, we mayforget to take the time tobe alone with God or to be with our spouse and children. But suchomissions must not be

allowed to go on for too long.

If we neglect our time with God, we willlose our spiritual health.If we neglect our timewith our spouse andfamily members for toolong, we will end up withunhealthy families. If wekeep on losing sleep andworking without a rest,our bodies and ouremotions will beseriously affected, leaving us weak anderratic in our behavior.

Immediately after anemergency, we may haveto push ourselves to the

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If we neglect our time with God,

we will lose ourspiritual health.



limit without much rest.But soon we will need to get into a routine offinding time for rest anddevotion amid the busyactivity. This wouldinclude resting one day aweek in keeping with theprinciple of a Sabbathrest. This applies to all people involved inalleviating suffering. For example, those whocare fulltime for ailingloved ones must makesure they take time off torest and to be with theLord. If they don’t, theymay become irritable and even lose theireffectiveness ascaregivers.

Working nonstopwithout rest and spiritualnourishment will result ina loss of joy, irritability,and even depression. In his book The NewTestament Image Of TheMinistry (Grand Rapids:Baker, 1974, p.133),

W. T. Purkiser quotessomeone involved incounseling who said that he has never knowna case of depression thatdidn’t begin with fatigue.

Because joy is one ofthe most basic qualitiesof a Spirit-filled Christian(Gal. 5:22), when peoplelose their joy they ceaseto behave like Christians.This joy is what gives usstrength (Neh. 8:10). Ithelps us to keep servingGod enthusiastically,

24

Working nonstopwithout rest and spiritualnourishment will result in a loss of joy,

irritability, and even depression.



regardless of how tough things become.Sometimes we may beweeping from the sorrowof what has happened,but deep down we havethe joy of the Lord in ourlives. This is becauseamid the sorrow, we areenjoying fellowship withthe One who loves usand whom we deeplylove.

One of the sad facts of the history of reliefwork is that many of its workers have falleninto serious sin and damaged theirrelationships with theirfamilies and loved ones.And many relief workersburn out and neverattempt such work again.

This is similar to whatwe see in families whohave a child who isseriously ill. Couples willoften divorce after theyhave come to the end of their prolonged crisis.

They had been soinvolved with the toughwork of caring for thechild that they didn’ttake the time to nurture their marriagerelationship. They wereworking hard togetherthroughout their child’sillness, but once the childdied they discovered thatthey had drifted apart.

In emergencysituations, be careful to “keep a close watchon yourself” (1 Tim. 4:16ESV). We tend to getcareless when we aretired. We can easily be caught off guard at suchtimes. So we need to beespecially careful aboutour personal lives whenwe’re exhausted.

We also need to be careful about ourprofessional behavior.Paul warned that if wework in ways that aredispleasing to God, ourwork will be considered

25



useless by God and willbe burned away anddestroyed at the final

judgment (1 Cor. 3:12-15). Here are someprofessional errors weneed to be careful about. • We must take care

that we do notexaggerate about what we are doing or use our reporting to bring glory toourselves. The glory

from what we do belongs to God alone (Ps. 115:1; Isa.48:11). We need to beconstantly alert to thepossibility of strayinginto actions that areaimed primarily atbringing glory toourselves and ourorganizations.

• We must also becareful about the way we use the funds we receive. Even though there is a lot of urgent work to do, we must not break the principles of acceptableaccounting. Sadly,many frauds havebeen committedduring reliefoperations. And some of these began as errors inprocedures by well-meaning individuals.

26

Paul warned that if we work in ways that are

displeasing to God,our work will be

considered uselessby God and will beburned away anddestroyed at thefinal judgment.



A TIME FORCOMFORT ANDFOR THE GODOF COMFORT

PPaul described Godas the “God of

all comfort, whocomforts us in all ourtribulation, that we maybe able to comfort thosewho are in any trouble,with the comfort withwhich we ourselves are comforted by God” (2 Cor. 1:3-4). With so many peopletraumatized, sad, andneeding someone tolisten to them, those who have received God’scomfort can do much tobe agents of healing.

I think society haslearned the importanceof ministering to peoplewho are emotionally and mentally affected by calamities. Nowprofessional counselors

are rushed to placeswhere disasters havetaken place. While this isneeded, the experts alsorealize that there is greatvalue in the friendshipsof laypeople who areknown by the affectedpersons. These are thepeople who can minister

to others in a morenatural setting over anextended period of time.

What is most urgent is 27

With so many peopletraumatized,

sad, and needingsomeone to listen

to them, those who have receivedGod’s comfort can

do much to beagents of healing.



to give back to affectedpeople, as much aspossible, what theyregarded as a normal life before the tragedystruck. One of the mostimportant jobs that theexpert can do is getpeople back into their“normal” relationshipswith their families,friends, colleagues, andneighbors. It is in thoserelationships that theywill find strength.

Our role in helpingtraumatized people maysimply be one of beingwith them and listening

to them. But the urgencyof getting them back to a normal life may oftennecessitate talking tothem as well. Listeningalone may not be enough.

Experts have foundthat some things that arequite normal in ordinarycounseling situationsshould not be done withpeople who have gonethrough severe trauma.For example, it’sstandard practice in counseling to ask hurting people to talkabout their pain andwhat caused it. But withtrauma counseling thisshould be done onlywhen the person is ready,which may be muchlater. Talking about thetrauma prematurely maytrigger emotions that they cannot handle.

Some fairly extremereactions like intensefear, depression,withdrawal and silence,

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Our role in helpingtraumatized people

may simply be one of being withthem and listening

to them.



anger, sleeplessness,shock, nightmares, and crying are normalhuman responses totragedy. In most cases, these symptomswill pass with time. Weshould therefore try to be understanding and reluctant to come to quick judgments about their behavior.Ministering in this way is patterned after themodel of Christ, who leftheaven, came alongsideus, and understood ourlives better than weourselves do.

Following the 2004tsunami in Sri Lanka, myfriend Dr. Arul Anketell,who is a medical doctornow ministering fulltimewith other people in the medical field,encountered an old manin a refugee camp. Hehad typical symptoms of a severe heart attack.Arul called another

doctor and uponexamination theyconcluded that he was not suffering from a heart attack

at all. This man had lostseveral family membersin the tsunami. Theytalked and prayed withhim and soon found thathe was not only clearedof his symptoms but was

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Some fairlyextreme reactionslike intense fear,

depression,withdrawal andsilence, anger,sleeplessness,

shock, nightmares,and crying arenormal humanresponses to

tragedy.



also deeply interested in getting to know about the God to whom thedoctors had prayed.

I know of childrenwho are afraid to touchwater since the tsunami.I went to a school wherea teacher told me thatthey would like to reopensoon. But the parentsdidn’t want to send theirchildren to the schoolbecause it’s fairly close to the sea, and becausethey don’t want to beseparated from them—even for the brief timethey would be in school.Such situations requiremuch understanding and skill.

Even relief workerswere in need of comfort.What they experiencedwas emotionallydraining. When I first went to one of theplaces that was seriouslyaffected by the tsunami, I wanted to weep

because of the strongimpact it had on me. A colleague went to a similar site shortly after the tsunami hit and was confronted with dead bodies andincredible devastation. It wasn’t long before hehad to go to his van sohe could weep privately.

Exposure todevastation canprofoundly affect our minds and emotions. This calls for sensitivity to the

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Exposure todevastation can profoundly affectour minds andemotions.This

calls for sensitivityto the needs of

caregivers.



needs of caregivers. They must be givenopportunities to sharetheir pain with othersand to be exposed to thecomfort of the Christiancommunity and to thecomfort of God.

I think one of the greatest truths forChristians ministering towounded people is thatwhen God became ahuman being, Hesuffered many of thesame things that thosewho face tragedies suffer. As a child, Jesusnarrowly escaped aviolent death, and Hisfamily had to flee theirmotherland and berefugees in a strangeland. He was rejected bythe people He came tohelp. His earthly fatherprobably died when Hewas young, and becauseHe had at least fouryounger brothers and an unknown number of

sisters to be supported(Mk. 6:3), He didn’treceive a formaleducation. This is why the religiousauthorities regardedJesus as uneducated (Jn.7:15). This is a handicapthat many children facetoday if their familyencounters tragedy. Jesus knew the pain of being tried andcondemned unjustly and executed as acriminal by one of the cruelest methodsinvented by humankind.

When I was less than10 years old, somethingvery embarrassinghappened to me. In mydesperate state, the firstwords that came to mymind were, “My God, my God, why have Youforsaken me?” Muchlater it struck me that I knew these wordsbecause they werespoken by God

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incarnate, Jesus Himself(Mt. 27:46). He wentthrough the pain we gothrough. This truly is aGod with whom sufferinghumanity can identify.

The greatest need of people is to have arelationship with the“God of all comfort” (2 Cor. 1:3). In ourbusyness of relief efforts, we must neverlose sight of the needpeople have to receiveGod’s salvation. We mustremember, however, thatGod never manipulatespeople into accepting His message. He reasonswith people about Hisway of salvation (Isa.1:18). We must thereforebe careful to ensure thatpeople do not acceptChrist simply becausethey received aid fromChristians. They shouldaccept Him because theybelieve in their heartsand minds that, through

Jesus, God has providedthe answer to theirdeepest needs.

Times of disasterprovide us with uniqueopportunities to practiceour Christianity. When a disaster strikes,Christians need to ask, “What should I be thinking at this time? And how should I respond to this crisis in a Christian way?”

Other RelatedBooklets From RBC Ministries:• When Tragedy Strikes

(CB042)• Why Would A Good

God Allow Suffering?(Q0106)

• How Can I Live WithMy Loss? (CB921)

• How Much Does GodControl? (Q0109)

• Where Can We FindComfort? (Q0303)

• Knowing God ThroughJob (SB141)

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After the Hurricane

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Transcript of After the Hurricane