Seeing God's Hand

Photo by Marc-Olivier Jodoin on Unsplash

Here in the Atlanta area, we are now getting the rain and wind associated with Hurricane Irma. So far, so good, especially when you consider what we all thought very bad things were going to happen.

Irma is one of the most powerful storms ever recorded in the Atlantic basin. As a category five hurricane with consistent wind speeds of up to 185 miles per hour, it is the longest-lasting top-intensity cyclone ever recorded. (A category five is anything with sustained winds of over 157 miles per hour.) And, not only are the winds crazy, but the sheer size of the storm has had everyone on the edge of their seats. (And, not in a good way.) Irma can cover the entire state of Florida and is more than twice the size of Hurricane Andrew.

Irma was projected and predicted to hit south Florida and move up along either the east or west coast wreaking total-destruction in some areas, along with life-threatening storm surges and heavy rain.  And, hit Florida it did. And while we don’t know exactly how bad things are down there, especially in the keys, we do know one thing; it has NOT been the catastrophic event we all thought it would be. (I kept re-playing Katrina over and over in my mind.)

When I went to bed last night, I was expecting to see thousands of homes and buildings flattened when I got up this morning. I was expecting to see to thousands of people in terribly rough shape. I was expecting to see complete towns wiped off the map. Basically, I was expecting to see hell on earth. Thank God, praise Jesus, I didn’t see any of that.

That’s not to say that horrible things didn’t happen, but it is definitely not on the level that I was expecting. And, while we are not out of the woods yet, I, for one, am breathing a huge sigh of relief. What we have left now are winds and rain that feel manageable, live-through-able.

The only thing I can chalk this up to is God. I know many, many, many people prayed about this storm. A friend of mine shared an amazing video on Facebook yesterday of people gathered on the beach in Jacksonville, Florida praying and singing to God.
​
He heard our collective prayers and acted. He weakened this storm, the biggest on record, and spared the good people of Florida. I truly believe this. It is because of his hand. He sees each and every one of us and He hears our prayers. And, thank the Lord, He answers prayers as well.

And, I do know we still have a sketchy evening ahead. There is a lot of rain and wind and possible tornadoes. But, I am going to keep on praying and trusting in God. He has taken very good care of me so far in this life, and I know He isn’t going to stop now.

Please join me in prayer for all of us who are feeling the effects of Hurricane Irma. Also, please pray for all the people in Caribbean who did feel the devastating effects of this hurricane.  Together, we can continue to see his hand at work through all of this.​