Many of us will have experienced some amount of flooding as a result of storm Babet. Where I live, apart from the inconvenience of not having easy access into town, there was not much damage. There was a slightly anxious moment when water was flowing from our pond (drainage ditch off the fields) across the back garden, lapping at the patio steps, and also across the front drive.
I am aware that one of our churches, at Framlingham, was flooded – Framlingham and Debenham being particularly badly affected areas of Suffolk.
There was, of course, a famous flood in the Old Testament, that would make recent events seem like a small shower.
The people of God had turned away from him, and God vowed to “wipe them from the face of the earth.”
These are harsh words, and do they fit with a New Testament God who sent Jesus to save his people?
I’m not suggesting for one moment that the recent flooding is a God given punishment to us, but is it a wake-up call for us to think about what we doing to God’s wonderful world? Are our actions, or inactions, contributing to a weather system that is becoming more and more extreme, scorching heatwaves and torrential rain?
There are areas of the world where flooding causes large scale loss of homes, livelihood, and even life, on a national scale.
I write this thought with the sun shining through my window, and small puddles on the road, as if there had never been any water flowing down the road.
Let us remember those who have lost their lives in the flooding or suffered damage to property, but also those areas of the world where flooding occurs on a regular basis.
Prayer: Creator God, we marvel at the beauty of your world that you made, and it was good. Forgive us that through our actions, or inactions, weather systems are sent off course, where lives and homes are lost. Help us to see that we can make a difference, and help our world leaders make decisions that are not just short term “political points” but are looking to long term solutions for all of mankind, for generations to come. AMEN