[reflections on katrina: was katrina God's judgement?]

two days ago i received an email from a friend regarding hurricane katrina. this friend had forwarded an email list from an organization claiming to speak for God.

the gist of the list was that because the city of new orleans openly celebrated it's sin and welcomed homosexuality in particular (mardi gras, girls gone wild videos and abortion clinics all get honorable mentions), God chose to decimate it. then, in one final attempt to solidify that this storm was, indeed, an act of judgement, the author leaves the reader with these words from matthew 5:45- [God] sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.

my problem with this "judgement" logic is simply this: God is not random. God does not dispense wrath at random. biblically, all judgements have been preceded by prophetic warnings. God has always given people a warning and a way out.

God told abraham in genesis that He was about to destroy sodom and gomorrah. He sent two angels to rescue lot and his family so that the city could be destroyed. when those who heard the warnings laughed or didn't repent, they were destroyed. God even promised abraham that, if even ten righteous people could be found there, then sodom and gomorrah would not be destroyed.

in exodus, at the foot of sinai, israel was full of sin. God's anger burned within Him and He told moses that He would simply destroy israel and begin again. moses' intercession was enough to save his people.

and finally, just to show that i didn't pick out two random references to build my platform on: when God sent jonah to ninevah, He did it to warn the people of the impending judgement, to give them an opportunity to repent and change their ways.

now tell me, or show me, who was giving the specific warning? who did God use to warn the people of new orleans and how specific were they about His message? if katrina was God's judgement, and the people were warned, where were the intercessors praying for restoration?

i don't believe katrina was a judgement. i believe what God says about storms and disease in amos chapter 4. He did it to draw us to Him. He is showing us that He has the real power and that we are so dependent on our labels of independence that we are slaves to our egos.

yes, we need to repent as a nation. yes, we need to relearn how to approach the Holy One. but katrina is not a judgement. katrina was created to cause us to reflect on how we are living our lives, what we can do to change our lives and how we can live our lives for the glory of God.

katrina was a wake-up call, not a farewell speech.

[for the world-wide renown of His sovreign glory...]