I have been dodging writing about this. I did not want to share what I really feel about what happened in Srilanka this Easter.

When catastrophic events take place whether man-made or God-permitted, it creates a lot of unrest and questioning. Most often the answers are emphatically known. Man has gone too far in his vices. With a rotting mind fueled by hate, violence and lasciviousness, he has become not just a self-abolishing hellion but one that is venomous to bring down all of mankind by way of extremism and terrorism.

However, trusting God in the time of grief is the calling of a Christian.

One might wonder, what is the role of God, then? Many months ago I had a chat with my mother about the things going on in the world and how we are in the last days as per the Bible. There are prophetical signs spoken in God’s word about the kind of things that will unfold when the end is near. i.e. when Jesus comes again a.k.a. rapture a.k.a. the end of the world as we know it.

She explained the mind of God using an anecdote which I will remember all of my life. She said God in His manifold wisdom created the universe and all things therein. He created orders and established decrees. He set a tacit law to the elements He created. Like the sun will do a day shift and the moon and stars will take care of the night. The waves can dance all they want but they cannot cross the shoreline or that the mountains should stand upright and not falter or the winds should blow tirelessly, etc. etc. which in simpleton terms is what we call the science of everything.

The Earth is an independent body. It has its times and seasons and is self-regulated. There is a cycle of things which by the interference of man is either accelerated or diminished, eventually altering the sequence that God intented. God is not looking down on Earth and thinking, let’s flood the Asian islands with Tsumani this winter or bring drought and famine to the African countries of Somalia, Malawi and Mozambique this summer. God is not holding the earth or the people of the earth as puppets in His hands. He has His own things to do. Who knows, there may be alternate or even superior life forms present which we are not aware of. We are mere creations. Our knowledge and understanding of things are limited.

Interestingly, when we earthlings cry to our creator God owing to the stress and woes of living this mundane life, God in His mercy puts away His works to listen to our prayers. Remember, at creation, God gave man free will to choose and do the things he wants. So, we are at all times in charge of what we do and we will receive the fruit of our actions in the course of our lives. Praying to God will change our circumstances metaphorically, not literally. The tsunamis will continue to come because we have tilled the earth more than it can take, and the African nations suffer from drought because the geographical lands are unfertile and unequipped for cultivation.

So, what good does praying do, really?

Through prayer we will be saved. Whatever we own might be demolished in a Tsunami, but God will open a way for our lives to be restored. We may be hungry, but God will spare our life and create an opportunity to florish. Only those who pray and have received answers from God can truly comprehend and celebrate, and be in awe of the leading of God.

However, there is one thing that is above any man’s prayers and that is the will of God.

Humans are smaller than the speck of dust in God’s eyes, and we have no authority or credibility to question God’s timing or leading. There is no doubt that the brutal slaughter of 310 Lankans is appalling and devastating in every sense. But, the truth remains. Man is an independent being, and God will not unlawfully interfere in the choices of man, even if he is party to terrorism. Just as we cannot dissect the mysteries and the ways of God. The God of the Bible is one of peace and love, and He will reign supreme. We will never know why those select people were chosen to be killed on that day. We will never know.

Even when Job (from the Bible) lost his children, property, his wealth and health, he says to his wife who tells him to curse God “What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil?” (Job 2:10)

Trusting in the Lord does not mean prosperity. It means hope in the time of death and peace in the time of turmoil.