As a nation we have watched two major, devastating storms hit our land causing destruction, fear, anxiety, death and loss beyond comprehension. How are we to pray? I think Job gives us a close when he said, “Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him.” Brennan Manning once wrote that God would rather hear us tell Him we trust him we love Him. He wants us to trust in His love and care. Trust is evidence of our love for Him and an understanding of His character.

In the light of terrible destruction, Habakkuk wrote, “Though the fig tree should not blossom, and there be no fruit on the vines, though the yield of the olive should fail, and the fields produce no food, though the flock should be cut off from the fold, and there be no cattle in the stalls, (sounds like the aftermath of a huge storm) yet I will exult in the Lord, I will rejoice in the God of my salvation. The Lord God is my strength, and He has made my feet like hinds’ feet, and makes me walk on my high places.”

I believe those kinds of prayers in the midst of loss, pain and suffering bring joy to the heart of God. When we affirm our trust in Him and our dependance on Him, not our circumstances, we are drilling down to the bedrock of His almighty character.

I know the days, weeks, months, years of rebuilding will test every fiber of our society. For now adrenaline carries the day…but weariness will set in. A good look at the situation will overwhelm us. We have to keep our focus on God. He is still on His throne.

If He is in control why didn’t He stop it or lessen the storm? We live in a fallen world. Bad things happen. Horrible things happen. But none of these things can separate us from His love. “Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril or sword…I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” That is security, folks! True security.