Scripture: Romans 8:18-22, Genesis 1:4, 10, 12, 1:18, 21, 25, 3:17-18, Job 2:10

In the year 2010, natural disasters killed more than a quarter of a million people. In fact, more people were killed in that year by natural disasters than by all terror attacks in the past 40 years combined. Natural disasters don’t just cause physical and emotional problems. For many, they cause severe spiritual problems and raise deep theological questions. When the weather is great and the seas are calm and the sun shines or the rain is gentle, God doesn’t get any credit. As soon as a natural disaster hits, they are called “acts of God.” In this message, Dr. Merritt tackles the most profound question we have of natural disasters--"Why would God allow this to happen?"

"We can at least deal with murder, rape, and torture, because we can always say, 'This is what people do. It is not what God does.' Earthquakes, tsunamis, tornadoes, hurricanes, people have nothing to do with these. The only place you can look is God. Consequently there are a lot of Christians who might not lose their faith because of human evil, but they find it much more difficult to explain natural disasters. Just as there are aftershocks after earthquakes, there are spiritual and religious aftershocks after natural disasters that challenge the faith of us who believe in God and fire-up the cynicism of skeptics and critics." --Dr. Merritt

Keywords: storm, disaster, tsunami, earthquake, wave, hurricane, cyclone, circumstances, refugees, tornadoes, aftershock, creation, weather, Katrina, Japan, Tuscaloosa, Alabama, New Orleans, history, Adam and Eve, Tarzan, Haiti, groanings, earth, Naoki Suda, Kaqunari Nawa, wait, expectation, ocean, currents, Joshua, Elijah, Jonah