A Time to Weep; A Time to Dance
By Rev. Lonnie C. Crowe
Last evening, much of our area was assaulted by thunderstorms,
destructive hail and tornadoes. The turbulence struck to the south, north, east
and west of us, but we were spared. Even
in our safety, we are prone to question God.
Why? Why were we spared when so many others are devastated? We
tend to feel guilty about that for which we should be thankful.
Solomon wisely wrote, “To every thing there is a season,
and a time to every purpose under the heaven: A time to weep, and a time to
laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance” (Ecclesiastes 3:1,4).
Sometimes, those seasons come together. When I looked around my property this morning
and saw everything intact, my heart rejoiced.
I praised God. The greater joy I
felt in my deliverance, the greater grief I sensed when I learned more details
of the destruction around me.
I wept for the family who, after suffering nearly
overwhelming loss is last year’s prairie fires, watched as the storm obliterated
buildings and personal property. My
heart ached for residents of a nursing home in Nebraska whose roof was torn
away. I cringed at pictures of
hailstones that could barely be held in an adult palm.
In this, I have come to understand more clearly the nature
of our God. In a single moment of time,
He rejoices with those who rejoice and weeps with those who weep. I cry out, “Oh,
to be like Thee, blessed Redeemer.”
Those of us who were spared the effects of the super cell
that hovered over our area, must praise God, without guilt, for our deliverance
and at the same time reach out in compassion to those who were not spared. We must be comforters, encouragers and
helpers. We must allow those who are hurting to grieve so that they can be
healed in their hearts.
The question should not be, “Why, God?”, but, “Lord, how
can I help?”
Prayer is always helpful and so are encouraging words and
helping hands.
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