The media has called it Frankenstorm, the meteorologists have named her Sandy and others are calling it the Perfect Storm. Frankenstorm churned in from the sea. The hurricane was on a collision course with a winter storm and a cold front, and high tides from a full moon made it a rare hybrid storm that could be felt all the way to the Great Lakes.
What do I know about Hurricane Sandy?
•Near record size
Second largest in size since 1988. The size of the storm was unprecedented.
• Full Moon
It was a worse case scenario with the storm coming around with a full moon. The full moon with the high tides will add another 1 to 2 feet and then there is wave action on top of that.
• Snow
3 feet of snow in the Appalachians
As much as 2 feet in the hills of Southwestern Virginia to Kentucky
12-18 inches in the Appalachians in North Carolina & Tennessee
• Storm surge
Authorities warned that New York City could be hit with an 11-foot wall of water. Some estimates are now that it was 14, not a mere 11 feet. It swamped parts of lower Manhattan, flooded subway tunnels and crippled the network of electrical and communications lines that are vital to the nation’s financial center.
• Lives interrupted
As many as 60 million people’s lives were disrupted as schools and government services closed, travel was halted, the U.S. Stock Exchange was prevented from opening and presidential campaign events were canceled. This is the first time the New York Stock Exchange had closed trading for weather reasons since Hurricane Gloria in 1985.
Tens of thousands of people were ordered to evacuate in anticipation of the storm, including 375,000 in lower Manhattan and other parts of New York City. At least 50,000 were ordered to evacuate in Delaware alone and 30,000 in Atlantic City, New Jersey, where the city’s 12 casinos were forced to shut down for only the fourth time in the 34-year history of legalized gambling there.
Frankenstorm seemed to have wreaked havoc with the east coast from North Carolina to Maine and possibly as far inland as the Great Lakes. Tens of millions of lives were disrupted for who knows how long.
• Transportation
Airlines canceled more than 7,200 flights
Amtrak began suspended passenger train service across the Northeast.
New York and Philadelphia shut down their subways, buses and commuter trains
Sunday night In Washington and New Jersey, Metrorail and PATH train services were cancelled.
• Schools
Schools closed on Monday, Boston, Washington and Baltimore as well as schools in Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New York and New Jersey.
• Presidential campaign
The storm interrupted the campaigns of President Barack Obama and Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, with the election a little more than a week away.
This is my question: “Is God really bigger than the Frankenstorm?”
What do I know about God?
“For He spoke and raised up a stormy wind, which lifted up the waves of the sea.” – Psalm 107:25
“The One forming light and creating darkness, causing well-being and creating calamity; I am the LORD who does all these.” – Isaiah 45:7
“For I know that the LORD is great and that our Lord is above all gods. Whatever the LORD pleases, He does, in heaven and in earth, in the seas and in all deeps. He causes the vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth; Who makes lightnings for the rain, Who brings forth the wind from His treasuries.” – Psalm 135:5-7
“For to the snow He says, ‘Fall on the earth,’ and to the downpour and the rain, ‘Be strong.’ – Job 37:6
“Fire and hail, snow and clouds; stormy wind, fulfilling His word;” – Psalm 148:8
“ When He utters His voice, there is a tumult of waters in the heavens, and He causes the clouds to ascend from the end of the earth; He makes lightning for the rain, and brings out the wind from His storehouses.” – Jeremiah 10:13
‘I smote you and every work of your hands with blasting wind, mildew and hail; yet you did not come back to Me,’ declares the LORD.” – Haggai 2:17
“He said to them, “Why are you afraid, you men of little faith?” Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the sea, and it became perfectly calm.’ The men were amazed, and said, “What kind of a man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?” – Matthew 8:26-27
What do I know about God? I know:
- that God is the Sovereign Creator of the universe.
- He is in control of the weather.
- God causes calamity, and creates the calm.
There are two questions we must ask.
- Lord, what are you doing?
- Lord, what would you have me to do?
Great post, great, photos, great exhortations of what we can ask God. My husband and I were discussing this the other night. He said, ‘interesting that many of these people will throw their fists up at God demanding freedoms of choice, rights to be homosexual and married, yet…when calamity hits they are asking for prayer’. He wondered what God would want him to do. Then he said, ‘i guess we are to still pray for our enemies’. I was the one who said, ‘yes, pray that they will repent, otherwise, Lord, bring it on!’. I’m so weary of our culture… Is there time? Is there room for repentance?
Thanks for your encouragement.
I agree with your husband, we are to pray for our enemies.
Kelli there is always time for repentence, right up until Jesus returns. We need to keep sharing truth until He does.
Thank you for this reminder, BJ. God is in control and will use all things for His Glory.
Wow. Thank you for the reminder, BJ, that our God is an awesome God! How do I respond? I humble myself in His awesome presence, thank Him for His care and for the very air I breathe, and I want to know Him better and trust Him more because He is my only hope in and for this world!
God is awesome Jan. When we see the power of the hurricane and how it re-defined the coastland and whole cities, and how it effected such a large area and put that up against the Creator of the Universe it should put us on our faces before the Almighty Creator of heaven and earth. Just another reminder of how Great God is and how small I am.
May we glorify His name among the people!
Great scriptural truths! My go-to verse will always be, “I am the Lord, the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for me?” (Jeremiah 32:27) God is most definitely bigger than Frankenstorm, and wasn’t the least bit taken by surprise when it hit.
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Bethe, that is a great verse! Thanks for reading and commenting. If you liked this you may want to subscribe to see future posts.
Thank you for this, BJ. This could be turned into a neat little devotional. I have jotted down these x-refs, noted what we can know about God from them and written down the final questions that must be asked. I’ve slipped this into my Bible for tomorrow’s Sunday School class. In case the discussion turns to Sandy, I am armed with this sweet little devotional so as to turn our eyes and hearts to the sovereignty of our great God. Since the presidential elections are in two days I’ve also added Daniel 2:20-22 and Romans 13:1,5.
Again, thank you.