By Dr. Mark Creech
Christian Action League
September 11, 2018
A hurricane develops at sea. The water temperature has to be at least 80 degrees Fahrenheit, which is why Northern latitudes are usually spared. The warm sea creates a funnel of air which rises to perhaps 50,000 feet, producing vast cumulus clouds. High air currents are distributed, and more air from below is drawn into the funnel. Earth’s rotation gives it a twist, and the gigantic storm is born – a mass of winds that can be as much as 400 miles in diameter, swirling around at speeds up to 200 miles per hour.
A hurricane can lift sixty million, or more, tons of water and generate more power every ten seconds than all the electric power used in the United States in a year.
Believe it or not, good comes from the hurricane. Scientists contend that without an occasional hurricane, the world’s weather might be worse. Fierce tropical storms play a vital role in maintaining the heat balance between the tropic regions. The tropics and the subtropics receive more heat from the sun than they lose by radiation. To prevent gradual cooling of the poles and scorching of the equatorial regions, hurricanes help keep the balance.
If we could control hurricanes and prevent them from happening, then nature would likely find some other method of maintaining the heat balance, and who could say whether another means might be even more disastrous than a hurricane.
Of course, hurricanes are extremely hazardous. When a hurricane passes over, some people may die, while thousands of other lives can be negatively impacted in a myriad of ways that can last for years, even a lifetime.
The Bible teaches that Christ is sovereign over the storm. Mark 4:35-41 says Jesus and his disciples were in a boat on the sea and a mighty squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat in such a treacherous manner the disciples feared for their lives. Jesus was asleep in the boat at the time, and the disciples awakened him, saying, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown.” Jesus then got up and said to the waves, “Quiet, be still.” Immediately, the wind died down, and it was completely calm.
Our Lord, if he should choose, could turn back Hurricane Florence, with just a word from his lips. Perhaps you will join me in praying that he will speak to this gargantuan tempest bearing down on the coasts of the Carolinas. One word from him could cause the hurricane to dissipate immediately or turn it back towards the sea where it would be harmless.
However, if God’s providence has ordered the storm our way, then let us earnestly pray that he would spare life and property. We should pray that God in his mercy would not give us what we deserve for our many sins and that in his grace he would give us what we don’t deserve.
Would you join me in this prayer?
“Oh Lord, Holy and Sovereign in all your ways, be gracious and calm the storm which is advancing against us. Turn it from us that we might be spared its destruction. Nevertheless, as our Savior taught us, we pray for your will to be done, and not our own.
“If the storm is to come, we earnestly ask that you provide a barrier of protection around our loved ones. Vouch safe those that love you. We especially pray for those who do not know you – those who do not realize how close they are every day to the greatest disaster – the loss of their own souls. We also pray that you will shelter the most vulnerable among us, the children, the elderly, the weak and the poor.
“Lord, we also thank you for the storms. The storms remind us of our smallness and our utter need of you. The storms provide us opportunity to demonstrate our love for you by loving our neighbor in a time of need. The storms can engender appreciation for the many blessings of life that we too often take for granted.
“Lord, just as you were with your disciples in the boat as they rode upon the raging waves, as they endured the tremendous gusts of wind and torrential rain, we know that you are always with us. Therefore, we will not be afraid.
“In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, we pray, Amen.”