So a major hurricane is battering the east coast of Florida at this very moment. I’ve been praying that God would intervene and steer it off into the ocean and spare all those folks the devastation that will occur throughout the day and I ask you to join me in praying right now.
Here in Sarasota on the west coast it isn’t too bad, with 35 miles per hour winds and some rain. I have many friends on the east side of Florida and I just pray that they survive the storm in good fashion.
I’ve ridden out two hurricanes, Katrina and Camille. And although in my home in the keys we didn’t experience a direct hit from Katrina like New Orleans did, we were pummeled with winds in excess of 120 miles an hour from feeder bands that hit with a vengeance and it was not a pleasant experience.
At the time I lived right on the ocean and observed the chaos first-hand. I would have evacuated but all computer models indicated it would head north, but instead it turned 180 degrees in the opposite direction of what was predicted and headed directly south for us and it was too late to leave. I lost a 400-foot dock along with one of my boats, trees were felled and power was lost for weeks. We were lucky though, because after it left the keys it headed straight across the Gulf of Mexico and directly for New Orleans where many lives were lost.
I lived through Camille and was actually in Biloxi attending a “hurricane party” at the start of it. The guy I was riding with got a call from his mother and she insisted that he leave, and so we drove to our apartment in Hattiesburg as Camille built strength. Even in Hattiesburg it was a horrible night with wind gusts to 140 mph and it seemed to never end.
Biloxi suffered a direct hit and 268 or so people lost their lives. It was a terrifying experience to ride that one out. The hurricane left nothing along the coastline but bare foundations. It was eerie to walk where grand homes and centuries old majestic live oak trees once stood, and see what one storm could do. Big ships had washed ashore and were found so far inland that they had to be salvaged because there was no way to move them back to the ocean.
Having lived around the ocean much of my life I have fallen in love with it. Its raw power is as mesmerizing as it is pulverizing. One moment it can be azure blue, beautiful, and calm and the next a raging dark menacing snarling monster. Like so many things on earth, when we see the devastating power of an angry ocean we can really understand how small and insignificant we are comparatively speaking.
I wish some of these arrogant politicians who smugly go around the country running their mouths could get a good dose of it. Just maybe, they might develop a sense of humility as to how unimportant they really are in the big scheme of things. I can only imagine how God must feel to see the vanity of this world as He sits on His throne. His power is so awesome and yet He is casually brushed aside as a seemingly insignificant fable of times gone by. I wonder does He laugh or sadly shake His head as He sees those who mock Him. I’m betting it makes Him sad.
I hope and pray that any thinking person that experiences or views a little taste of His power demonstrated by Hurricane Matthew, would lower their eyes and kneel in awe of His Majesty Almighty God. I do.
Psalm33:6-9
By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, And by the breath of His mouth all their host. He gathers the waters of the sea together as a heap; He lays up the deeps in storehouses. Let all the earth fear the LORD; Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him . . .
Have a great weekend and go to Honey Lake Church, (or somewhere) this Sunday. And don’t forget to pray for all those who face such devastation from this dangerous storm.
October 7 2016 – Click here to listen