For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him.
Colossians 1:16 NIV
This world is not our home, but God made us stewards and cultivators of earth, relationships, and families. Until He calls us home, we need to take care of His charge. We need to understand the world, issues of the heart, and human error.
When we can’t take care because we are too busy pointing fingers right or nodding towards the left, we need to look at our own very human hearts and re-evaluate before blaming outside entities for our own iniquities. Human tragedy that use to bring out the best in our neighborly and patriotic behavior has either brought out the worst in us or drawn a line in the sand. It seems that we no longer face trying times as a unified nation, but are gravitating towards small circles of trust, and even those are being tested and tried as we dive further into the 21st century.
False Alarms and Human Error
Phone lines were bogged down as children called to say their final good-byes to their parents. Mothers removed sewer lids as fathers lowered their babies into the depths of human waste and ocean water. Families scrambled, police officers tried to keep cool in the chaos, and bases locked down. No one knew what to do, but they quickly learned that they were all in this together. We were all in this mad rush to somewhere else.
Our family circled together, praying for peace and praising the Lord for His supremacy and goodness. We asked for protection and thanked Him again and again.
Thirty minutes of raising hearts and confused faces among those we encountered, we were waiting for the all clear. I know that our military and allies would take care of us, but there was so much waiting and wondering.
But the Lord is good, all the time
Colossians 1:15-23 NIV
The Supremacy of the Son of God
The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.
Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation— if you continue in your faith, established and firm, and do not move from the hope held out in the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant.
Despite our misgivings, our human error, our accusations and our lack of love, Jesus rules forever, no question. Click To Tweet
The Lord Jesus is supreme
Despite our misgivings, our human error, our accusations and our lack of love, He rules forever, no question.
So what is the take away thought from the events on our little island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean?
- God is Good, He will reign forever.
- People are only human. They make mistakes. There should be accountability, but forgiveness heals brokenness.
- We need to think about a better way of preparedness.
- Community is important.
- Check yourself before you point a finger, laugh it off, or worse, remain in the dark. Educate everyone on truth.
- Our God is an Awesome God.
Thank you for sharing your perspective on such a scary situation! I love how you brought it all back to our trust in our Good Father. And I appreciated how you brought the finger-pointing back to our need for forgiveness too! Thank the Lord for His watchful care over our lives!
What an experience! I love the image of God as supreme! He is that, and higher than all lords, gods, kings and rulers. He is righteous like no other. Many people have no concept of that, and so miss out on the comfort of knowing someone controls everything. Thanks for sharing your experience!
There are some people that are quick to crucify, looking for someone to blame or fire. Though I do think there does need to be an accountability with this false alarm, I do know that God calls us to administer forgiveness and mercy. And you are right- we shouldn’t put our faith into humanity because we all mess up. Only God is perfect, steadfast, and powerful!
Gosh! You must be in Hawaii? That must have been so scary! I won’t even pretend to imagine I can understand how that felt. I’m glad it wasn’t a real alarm and appreciated reading your post!
Thank you for getting a different view of the situation out! Its accounts like yours that need to be shared over and over…we tend to forget about the lives affected behind a screen. Your trust in God and your faith in our country is commendable. I hope that I can allow supernatural peace to flow over me in any time of crisis like you did! <3 Thank you so much for bringing to light what not many are talking about! You are right, He IS an awesome God and only can be GOOD.
Thank you for your words. I think I needed to tell others a real life experience and not just snippets of chaos or lack of care on the news. God is truly good.
Such a moving post. God is indeed supreme despite what humans get up to and when he is for us, no one can stand against us.
I remember reading about this shortly after it happened, and it broke my heart to think of what people were going through during what was probably some of the longest 30 minutes of their lives. Thank you for this message. We experienced the same finger pointing and blame after the recent church shooting in TX. We need to remember who is on the throne.
This made me think of Lysa TerKeurst’s quote, “God is good. God is good to me. God is good at being God.” When we believe this, we can rest assured in all circumstances that He has us!
What a great perspective! I love these truths that you held onto. No matter the circumstances, we can rest in God is in control!
I really appreciate what you said about not pointing fingers and laying blame on this side or that side. So much of the rhetoric today is focused on proving that our “side”, whatever side that is, is the one that will solve all the world’s problems. We’ve totally forgotten that until Jesus is the one sitting on the throne, there are going to be problems and tragedies and heartache. We humans are never going to solve the world’s problems. We can and should try our best to do damage control in our world, but only God can truly fix our broken world.
Thank you for sharing your experience. From the outside all we are hearing is the excuses and finger pointing. This needs to be a bigger reminder of what’s truly important.
Amen. I really needed your post today. God is good and He will be with us in our scariest moments. Thank you for sharing your heart.
My heart breaks for what you all must have went through, but I love the heart behind this post. The forgiveness and grace. God’s love poured out through words. This is what Jesus is all about. We all fall short the glory of God, but that’s why Jesus came.
AMAZING! Thank YOU for sharing. Praise God for the HOPE and wisdom in Him……. I shared 4 ways (HUGS)
“Mothers removed sewer lids as fathers lowered their babies into the depths of human waste and ocean water.” That really happened? My heart is breaking! I am so sorry to hear this. By the time we heard about it on the east coast, we heard both the false announcement and then the correction. I am embarrassed to say I never thought about the time in between.
It did really happen. It’s like living a nightmare, or a movie. I don’t think you should be embarrassed. My goal is to bring awareness of God’s faithfulness and truth of the event. I appreciate you stopping by.