The
night Baton Rouge cried
(Deu
32:2) "Let my teaching drop as the rain, My speech distill as
the dew, As the droplets on the fresh grass And as the showers on the
herb.
No
words, no photos or videos can begin to describe what the power of
rain and unleashed waters can do to what man has made. A call came
for help and by the very grace of God, my heart was filled by the
Holy Spirit to answer.
The
Southern Baptist Convention's Florida Disaster Relief Chapter arrived
in Baton Rouge, Louisiana August 23rd, 2016, finding
ground zero in a flood of epic proportions.
Many
of the 400,000 precious souls directly impacted; 600,000 indirectly,
had little to no warning of just how severe and wide spread the
waters would be. It was as if everyone was taken by complete
surprise. The scope of the damage, and personal carnage far surpasses
that which took place in New Orleans in the after math of hurricane
Katrina. Neighborhood after neighborhood, block after block, piles
of wet, soggy, steamy, smelly material lines both sides of the
streets. Some piles ten feet tall.
The
smell, oh my, is terrible. Rotting food, household trash, dead
animals, furniture, saturated pink insulation, carpet, moldy
clothing, books and appliances. Virtually everything and anything
you would find in any home, all piled by the road.
It
is so easy to look at these piles of debris and discount that
somewhere buried in that mass of nastiness, lies the physical
memories and keepsakes from a family wedding, a death, a birth, a
high school graduation, a deed to a home, a photo of a loved one. All
this mish-mashed in a soggy stinky blob never to be seen again. For
those who went from having these normal personal, and in many cases,
treasured items and keepsakes, to being eye witness of their
destruction is very much a grieving event. A death.
Black,
white, Mexican, Vietnamese, labels that have no meaning anymore, as
people open their hearts to each other. These are God's creation
grieving, crying, wondering how, if ever, they will survive this
catastrophe. The quiet but ever so powerful invasion of their lives
now demands an even more powerful response of healing and compassion.
How
do you help when you yourself are absolutely helpless? Through the
power and strength of Jesus.
Over
the last several days, I have prayed for and prayed with so many
hurting and grieving people. Overwhelmed souls, begging to hear that
God is present, that He is active, is moving, is healing, right
before their very eyes. Not a single person has turned away from
receiving prayer; hearing the healing words of Jesus Himself through
the Holy Spirit spoken and shared through his servants. Just the
simple acknowledgment that prayers are indeed being answered brings
peace, hope and comfort to so many hurting hearts.
When
you READ YOUR BIBLE tonight, pray hard for the thousands in Baton
Rouge who carry a tremendous burden as they begin again, start over,
and grieve that which has been lost, but praise that which has been
gained through the power of prayer. Pray also for the hundreds who
have answered the call to share the love of Jesus with the broken
hearted.
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