The Haitian Earthquake: Where Was God?

An interesting post from http://www.ucg.org/ about the Hatian earthquake. To get this booklet for free click here , if you would like to donate to a charity click here and for more intesting posts like this click here..

The Haitian Earthquake: Where Was God?
A commentary by Ron Kelley

Posted January 14, 2010

The headlines speak of the horrific destruction and mounting death toll in the poorest Caribbean island of Haiti. A major 7.0 earthquake struck this already impoverished nation around 5 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 12. The death toll will be staggering, the suffering unimaginable.
The day after the earthquake, Reuters reported: "Television footage from the capital, Port-au-Prince, showed scenes of chaos on the streets with people sobbing and appearing dazed amid the rubble... The presidential palace lay in ruins, its domes fallen on top of flattened walls."
Why did God allow this to happen?
As we see heart-wrenching photos and video of this latest disaster, we are once again left to ponder the age-old questions: "Where was God? How could a loving God let this happen?" These questions seem to have no answer—but do they?
People like to think of themselves as masters of their own fate. They want to feel like they can control their own destiny. Try talking to survivors of a major natural disaster like an earthquake, and you'll get a different perspective. They have experienced absolute helplessness to control anything.
So where is God? If there is an answer to this timeless question, where is it? Why don't we know why God allows such unspeakable suffering to be inflicted upon helpless, innocent victims?
A place to find answers
God does reveal Himself to mankind in the pages of the Bible. We need to read it and understand that God does have a grand master plan for all humanity. The prophet Isaiah begins to answer these questions for us in Isaiah 59:1: "Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; nor His ear heavy, that it cannot hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God; and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear."
Some mistakenly think that this means that those affected by disaster must be more sinful than others. But Isaiah was describing all of humanity, as Jesus Christ made clear. In reference to the victims of disasters in His day, Jesus asked: "Do you think that they were worse sinners than all other men who dwelt in Jerusalem? I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish" (Luke 13:4-5).
The truth is that, starting with the famed episode in the Garden of Eden, people ever since Adam and Eve have chosen to live their own way, apart from God's revealed instruction and involvement in their lives. Romans 8:7 says humanity by nature does not want to live by the laws of God.
Sadly, mankind has chosen to abandon the laws of Almighty God that would bring us blessings, prosperity, happiness and protection from natural disasters. So He allows us to suffer the consequences of living our own way and also allows natural disasters to take their toll in human lives and suffering.
God pleads with mankind to reject going the way that seems right to us and instead open His instruction manual, the Holy Bible, and live by His way of life that will result in His blessings.
Ezekiel records this plea from God: "Say to them: 'As I live,' says the Lord God, 'I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn, turn from your evil ways! For why should you die, O house of Israel?'" (Ezekiel 33:11).
What can I do?
In Matthew 24:7-8, the Bible predicts that we will continue to see earthquakes, along with wars, famines and disease epidemics. It also says these are the beginnings of sorrows. What is God trying to tell us? Will we listen to His wake-up call? Could it be that God knows exactly what He is doing and is warning us to read His Book and find the answers to these perplexing questions?
You don't have to live in a world of doubt and despair. You can know that God truly is a caring, compassionate and loving God who has a plan that includes the hope of eternal life for everyone—including those helpless little children so tragically struck down in the devastation of this earthquake in Haiti.
Where was God and why didn't He prevent this latest disaster? Find the answers for yourself in our biblical study of Why Does God Allow Suffering?
There is hope. A new day is coming. One day soon, Jesus Christ will return to establish the government of God on this earth. Zechariah 8:5 speaks of a time when little boys and girls will play safely in the streets of the city. That beautiful world is our sure and certain promise from God.

Helping Haiti and the Dominican Republic

Because of the earthquake in Haiti, there is a demand for places to help send relief. This link is from www.hughhewitt.com of some possible places. For more interesting articles like this click here.


Helping Haiti and the Dominican Republic
Posted by: Hugh Hewitt
Here are links to two orphanages in Haiti:
God's Littlest Angels
Mercy & Sharing
Longer term relief in the form of a sponsorship of a child over the border in the Dominican republic can be done through Children Internasttional. More that 1,200 listeners of the program have sponsored a child in the DR, and CI does an extraordinary job of bringing hope to these poverty stricken communities, which are of course home to many refugees from Haiti.

On Relief and Risks: Cadmium v. Earthquakes
Posted by: Hugh Hewitt The pictures from Haiti make clear that the devastation there is immense.
The New York Times' The Lede blog has regular updates on conditions in the country.
World Vision is already delivering relief to the island nation.
The Salvation Army has been a force for good in the impoverished country for years, and is also accepting donations for immediate earthquake relief via their website or via phone at 1-800-SAL-ARMY.
The press release on damage done to the Army's operations by the earthquake is here.
Some day a similar-size or even much larger earthquake will hit the United States, and we will regret all the years in which warnings went by unnoticed or even undelivered.

Which brings me to cadmium.Claire's has joined Wal-Mart in pulling children's jewelry from its shelves for fear of the content level of cadmium in the products.
New York's Charles Schumer immediately called for a legislative ban on cadmium in products, and the Consumer Products Safety Commission is investigating.
Cadmium is indeed a nasty substance, a known carcinogen, and taking steps to limit exposure to it makes sense.But the sudden rush to recall, regulate and ban is just the latest example of the increasing inability of the public to judge relative levels of risk because of a political system that allies with needy media to turn everything into panic. I have covered the Consumer Products Safety Improvement Act fiasco extensively here and on my radio show. My law partners Gary Wolensky and Liz McNulty have spent a great deal of time in the last 18 months advising companies on how to comply with its onerous requirements of the CPSIA which have actually forced the bankruptcy of many small companies and the loss of hundreds of millions of dollars and thousands of jobs. Gary and Liz are no doubt right now at the office trying to figure out how to keep their clients out of cadmium-related trouble. The expense of compliance with all these rules is immense.What do you think is the net benefit to safety? If even a fraction of the cost of compliance with CPSIA and the soon-to-arrive cadmium law and rules was spent on earthquake preparedness in any of our high risk zones, which is the better expenditure?That question won't get asked by camera-hungry politicians looking for a hearing subject that will get them some press. So look for the Congress to take up a cadmium exposure protection statute even as we watch the unfolding horror in Haiti. It isn't rational to overprotect against cadmium and underprotect against the inevitable massive quake in California.But that's what we are going to do.