Natural Disasters are on the Rise

Could it be possible that someone is trying to get our attention?  Michael Snyder asks that question in his article posted below. You bet, and that “someone” is the LORD!

The reason is, this is a SIN SICK Nation and World! 

The increasing number of natural disasters and terrible storms have many people wondering, who controls the weather, God or Satan? Some point to the descriptions of Satan as the “prince of the power of the air” in Ephesians 2:2 and the “god of this world” in 2nd Corinthians 4:4 as evidence for Satan having control over weather. An examination of Scripture reveals that whatever influence Satan and his demon angels have over the weather is restricted by God’s ultimate sovereignty. The Devil, our “adversary,” must be taken seriously; we should acknowledge his existence and his limited power over the secular world. At the same time, Satan, a defeated fallen angel, is super-human but not divine, having only the power that God ultimately allows (2nd Thessalonians 2:6-11).

If Satan could impact the weather, it would only be by God’s permission, and restrained, as in the case of Job. Satan was allowed by God to torment Job in order to test him, and this included “the fire of God” (probably lightning) which “fell from the sky and burned up the sheep and the servants” (Job 1:16). This was followed by a “mighty wind” (possibly a tornado) that destroyed his eldest son’s home and killed Job’s children (verses 18-19). So if the fire from heaven and the tornado were somehow caused by Satan, they were still under the ultimate control of God for His purposes.

It is God, not Satan, who controls the weather (Exodus 9:29; Psalm 135:6-7; Jeremiah 10:13).
God controls the skies and the rain (Psalm 77:16-19).
God controls the wind (Mark 4:35-41; Jeremiah 51:16).
God upholds and sustains the universe (Hebrews 1:3).
God has power over the clouds (Job 37:11-12 Job 37:16).
God has power over lightning (Psalm 18:14).
God has power over all nature (Job 26).

God is in control of all things, including the weather. Through His providence, God provides for and protects His children, but He also permits Satan, demons, and mankind to exercise their limited will to commit acts of sin, evil, and wickedness. These same beings are fully responsible for any and all man-made disasters and tragedies they cause. We know that God has ordained whatsoever comes to pass (Ephesians 1:11; Romans 11:36), and therefore His invisible hand is in our pain, even though He cannot sin or be the perpetrator of evil (James 1:13-17).

There can be no meaningless suffering for the believer, whether the suffering is caused by mankind or by a natural event. We may not always know why evil acts or natural disasters happen, but we can be assured that in all our trials and tribulations God is working all things together for His glory and for our everlasting good (Romans 8:18-28). Source: Got Questions

Why Is America Being Hit By So Many Horrific Natural Disasters All Of The Sudden?

Michael Snyder – It has just been one thing after another in 2020.  First, the COVID-19 pandemic erupted and quickly spread all over the globe.  At this point more than 800,000 people have died globally, and authorities are warning us to brace ourselves for another wave of the pandemic in the fall.  Of course many would argue that fear of the virus has been even worse than the disease itself, and it is undeniable that the COVID-19 shutdowns were the primary reason why we have plunged into the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression of the 1930s.  More than 57 million Americans have filed new claims for unemployment benefits so far this year, and that number just keeps rising with each passing week.  On top of all that, the tragic death of George Floyd caused an unprecedented wave of civil unrest to erupt in major cities all across America, and many are anticipating a fresh outburst of unrest as we head toward election day in November.  So coming into this month we had already faced far more trouble than we do in a typical year, and now a very strange series of natural disasters is making things even worse.

For example, earlier this month an absolutely massive storm known as a “derecho” with winds of up to 112 mph came roaring through the Midwest.  Millions upon millions of acres of crops were destroyed, and Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds has described this storm as a “40-mile-wide tornado that went through the state of Iowa”…

The damage was so bad that the New York Times reported that Iowa state officials estimate that at least 14 million acres of necessary farmland were damaged by the storm. Not only were crops destroyed but hundreds of millions of bushels of commercial storage grain, as well as tens of millions of bushels of on-farm storage grain, were also lost.

Shannon Textor, who is a spokesperson for the Iowa Corn Growers Association, reported that it may be weeks to determine the monetary loss as a result of the storm. “It’s really hard to get your arms around the devastation at this point,” Textor admitted.

President Donald Trump took notice of the destruction and on Tuesday discussed the damage and promised Iowans the “full support of the federal government in recovery. According to Iowa Governor. Kim Reynolds, the devastation caused an estimated $4 billion in damages from the storm. During a briefing with the president, Reynolds described the storm as a “40-mile-wide tornado that went through the state of Iowa.”

Shortly after that historic storm ripped a giant scar across the Midwest, the western half of the nation was gripped by a historic heatwave.

The highest temperature ever captured by modern instruments was recorded in Death Valley, California, many other all-time records were shattered all over the Southwest, and the city of Phoenix actually broke their record for most days in a year in which the high temperature reached at least 115 degrees.

Of course that heat-wave set the stage for the nightmarish wildfires that we are witnessing in the state of California right now.

Yes, we see wildfires in California every year, but we have never seen anything quite like this.  Just consider the following facts…

-12,000 lightning strikes have hit the state over the past week, and many more are expected this week.

-More than a million acres have been destroyed by fire so far.

-Two of the five largest fires in the history of the state are burning in northern California right now.

-Wildfires in California have already caused more death and destruction in 2020 than they did in all of 2019.

-A “red flag” warning has been issued for Monday.  Authorities are anticipating that winds of up to 65 mph and widespread lightning strikes will make this crisis even worse.

For much more on these wildfires, please see my article entitled “The State Of California Is Never Going To Be The Same After This”.

As if everything that I have shared so far wasn’t enough, two very dangerous storms are headed toward the Gulf Coast.

Hurricane Marco is likely to make landfall first, and residents of the Gulf Coast will begin to feel Marco’s fury as early as Monday morning…

At 5 p.m. CDT on Sunday, Marco strengthened to a Category 1 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 75 mph and was moving to the north-northwest at 13 mph.

Forecasters warn that time is running out for residents along the central Gulf Coast to make preparations, as impacts will start to be felt early Monday morning. Marco is expected to continue intensifying through Sunday.

Following closely on the heels of Hurricane Marco is Tropical Storm Laura.

Laura will likely enter the Gulf of Mexico early this week, and forecasters fully expect it to also develop into a hurricane…

Tropical Storm Laura is forecast to reach the Gulf of Mexico early this week, where significant intensification into a hurricane is expected. The area with the highest chance of seeing a hurricane strike from Laura by midweek is along parts of the northern and western Gulf Coast, but this forecast is still uncertain.

At this point, many are anticipating that Laura will end up being the stronger of the two storms, but we shall have to wait and see how everything plays out.

Meanwhile, much of the other side of the globe continues to wrestle with a historic plague of locusts.  Some of these swarms of locusts are the size of major cities, and it would be difficult to overstate the crop devastation that we have been witnessing in many countries.

When combined with the tremendous impact that COVID-19 has been having on global food distribution systems, these two factors have created a tremendous worldwide crisis.  In fact, the head of the UN World Food Program has once again used the word “biblical” to describe the famine that the planet is potentially facing…

The Covid-19 pandemic may lead to a calamity of epic scale, with millions facing starvation worldwide, the head of the UN’s hunger-fighting body has warned.

“All the data we have, including WFP forecast that the number of people experiencing malnutrition will grow by 80 percent by the end of the year, … points to a real disaster,” David Beasley, Executive Director of the UN World Food Program (WFP), said.

“We are risking a famine of biblical proportions.”

2020 has truly been a year like no other, and it is imperative for everyone to understand that the “perfect storm” that we are now facing is just getting started.

All of a sudden, the U.S. is being hit by one major crisis after another, and to many people it seems quite unlikely that so many nightmarish events would happen so closely together by random chance.

So what do you think?  Could it be possible that someone is trying to get our attention?

It would be a major understatement to say that 2020 has been a “crazy” year so far, and I have a feeling that quite a few more surprises are in store for us before this year is over.

Does God control the weather, and does He send deadly storms?

Storms, floods, and earthquakes are indeed a part of the present world. We sometimes call them “natural disasters,” but they are not a surprise to God. Yes, God certainly can control the weather and send deadly storms.

Some have concluded that suffering occurs because it is beyond God’s control. This is incorrect. God has indeed established certain laws and principles that govern nature, but he remains sovereign over these laws. Psalm 148:8 declares that storms “do his bidding.” Concerning Jonah, it was the Lord who “sent out a great wind into the sea, and there was a mighty tempest in the sea” (Jonah 1:4)

Old Testament writers did not hesitate to attribute the forces of nature to God: “thy waterspouts … thy waves … thy billows” (Psalm 42:7). Today, God’s creation is too often depersonalized. He is in control, and has His reasons for all kinds of weather, both fair and stormy.

Job’s family killed by a severe storm

One biblical example is the story of Job. Severe weather had killed Job’s sheep, his servants, and all 10 of his children.

As Job suffered further physical affliction, he asked, “Why is there evil in the world?” His friends were not of great help in answering the question.

Finally, after much dialog, God spoke directly to Job out of a whirlwind (Job 38-41). The Lord made clear that His control over nature and His ultimate purposes are to be trusted. We simply cannot understand all the details of the Divine plan.

Job’s testimony demonstrates how trials should bring us closer to God, instead of driving us away.

“The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord…” —Job 1:21

Job 37:13 declares that God sometimes brings storms to punish people. This brings to mind the experiences of both Noah and Jonah; storms played a major part in their lives.   Read more at Christian Answers