The God of Catastrophe

This was Pastor Leitart's exhortation this week:

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At the Trinity office this week, you will find printed copies of Pastor Sumpter’s pastoral report from last Tuesday’s Heads of Household meeting. I encourage you to take one and read it carefully and prayerfully.

You’ll find that, as we celebrate our eighth anniversary as a church, we face several intense pastoral situations. Hidden sins have come to light; previously quiet sinners have turned defiant; apparently harmonious marriages have unraveled; family secrets have been revealed; accusations have been hurled at the elders.

Reading that report, you may be tempted to think that God has abandoned us for a season. The opposite is the case. Whenever God comes near, He throws the world into turmoil.

He brought flood waters in the time of Noah. Sodom was cheerfully decadent, until Yahweh showed up. No one had ever seen a nation plowed up as Egypt was when Yahweh came to rescue His son.

What surprises us is that God traumatizes the righteous as well as the wicked. Abraham the just was called to sacrifice his beloved son, faithful Joseph was sold as a slave, and David spent his early life on the run. When God the Son draws near in human flesh, He bears a cross. God’s presence is unspeakable joy; in a sinful world His presence is also, necessarily, unprecedented grief.

Many of the situations at Trinity emerged after we started our regular days of fasting and prayer. We have considered asking you to stop praying. But we need this. We are so content with our sin, sloth, and immaturity that we need trauma to grow up. God has answered our prayers. He has come near as the God He is, the God of catastrophe.

Even if you are not involved in any of these situations directly, don’t miss this chance for taking stock, self-examination and repentance. Don’t be proud when you read about other people’s problems. God is among us, and He is bringing hidden things to light. Beat Him to the punch; expose yourself before he exposes you. As Paul says, “let a man examine himself . . . if we judged ourselves rightly, we should not be judged.”