oklahoma—
Recent wildfires here in central Oklahoma left four people dead and at least 200 injured. A violent storm came sweeping down the plain on March 14; flames incinerated 170,000 acres and more than 200 homes. I was at the Trumpet offices in north Edmond finishing “The Sobering Truth About St. Patrick’s Day” when my roommate came to my office and told me that the house we were renting in Guthrie was in the high-risk zone. I got in my truck and drove up to Guthrie to get some things for the evening. I was about to see something I never thought I’d see and learn an important lesson about why God allows natural disasters.

By the time I arrived, the field adjacent to the house was engulfed in 10-foot flames. The fire was moving fast but not yet to the house, so I dashed inside to get my satchel with my Bible and computer. Putting these in my truck, I turned around to head back in, but the driveway was filled with smoke and burning embers. I got in my truck to drive through the smoke, but it was too thick. As I stared into the flames, I pondered my next move.

I drove back toward the house, but the first flames had reached it and I decided not to risk going back in for any other belongings. When the yard had burned down a bit and some of the smoke cleared, I drove down the driveway to safety. When I arrived at my neighbor’s, we realized that the heat and the embers had been so bad that some of the logs in my truck bed were burning, but we were able to extinguish them with a hose.

Forty minutes later, I was back at the house. The field had burned to ash, and it was now the house that was engulfed in flames. All I could do was watch it burn while I kicked myself for not grabbing my passport, my truck title, my scuba gear, my hiking backpack, a copy of The Lords of Avaris and some other favorite books.

After a night at my sister’s house on an air mattress next to my nieces’ dollhouse, I returned the next day. Everything that had been a house—shingles, rafters, joists, pipes, wiring, furniture, clothing, paintings was now a rectangular 18-inch-high pile of dark ash in a field of light ash. I found my cast iron skillet and left.

For the past several days, I have been sleeping on an air mattress at a friend’s house while I wait for the tenants at an investment property I own to find another home. I am definitely more fortunate than most of the people who lost homes in the recent catastrophe, since I have both savings and another house. Plus, many friends of mine have generously donated clothes and gift cards to make the next month easier. Yet natural disasters like this have an uncanny way of getting your attention by temporarily overturning your life.

Here at the Philadelphia Trumpet, we have likened natural disasters to God’s bullhorn. God says that He actively controls His creation, including weather patterns (Job 38). Blizzards, droughts, earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes and wildfires are not random happenstance. God allows them to get people’s attention.

Oftentimes, God allows natural disasters as a curse for sin. God says in Isaiah 29:6, “You will be punished by the Lord of hosts With thunder and earthquake and great noise, With storm and tempest And the flame of devouring fire” (New King James Version). This is why natural disasters tend to increase when societies turn away from God and His laws. Yet chastisement is not the only task God can accomplish through a fire.

Sometimes, natural disasters occur to build our patience and faith.

God tells us that fiery trials are a tool He uses to build character in His people (1 Peter 4:12) and that we should rejoice in our trials, because the trying of our faith builds patience and endurance (James 1:2-4).

Natural disasters can also teach us about the importance of diligence, including financial planning. Our free booklet Solve Your Money Troubles! recommends that people keep three to six months of living expenses in an emergency savings account because Proverbs 21:20 says, “There is desirable treasure and olive oil in the dwelling of the wise, but a foolish person devours all he has” (New English Translation). God can let emergencies happen simply to wake us to the fact that He expects us to plan for the unexpected.

In some instances, disasters can even be blessings in disguise. After fire from heaven destroyed Job’s children, servants and livestock, God blessed him with twice as much as he had before (Job 42:10). Certainly, that’s what I would hope for, but there’s a much more important outcome that I and every such victim need far more.

The main lesson is to see God in the fire!

Natural disasters are not random accidents. God knows every sparrow that dies (Matthew 10:29-31). He is well aware of exactly how fires, storms and other massive disasters affect every human victim. He allows these things to happen for a reason. He wants victims to stop and think about what this reason could be. He wants our attention; He wants us to overcome our sins; He wants us to rely more on Him for our every need.

In Luke 13, Jesus Christ clarified that we cannot necessarily impute wickedness on those who experience an accident or natural disaster. Their death or injury offers no concrete proof of their being any more sinful than those who survive—or anyone else in the world. “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28). Yet when it comes to those who have not been “called according to [God’s] purpose,” sometimes time and chance take their course (Ecclesiastes 9:11).

Jesus expects Christians to examine themselves before Passover (1 Corinthians 11:28-32). True Christians know that God often allows pre-Passover trials to help that process along. Sometimes these trials are interpersonal. Sometimes they are financial. Sometimes they are health related. Sometimes they are fiery.

Regardless of the trial, the biggest mistake you can make is to ignore the trial or consider it mere random chance. Natural disasters are getting worse. But many of those who look at these tragedies and even those who suffer them fail to see God in the fire. They instead blame carbon emissions, climate change or happenstance. They focus on politics, disaster services and how confusing and unfair it all is, ultimately moving on with their lives without learning any lessons. Sadly, this means that natural disasters will continue getting worse until the nation wakes up to the fact that God is trying to get our attention.

I have written about natural disasters for the Philadelphia Trumpet for many years. Yet one big lesson I have learned from actually living through one is that disaster victims need to stop and think after a disaster. The reason God sent the disaster may not be the same for everyone. But there is always a reason for the trial.

To learn more, read Why ‘Natural’ Disasters?