In times like this, I can’t help but ask “Where Is the Loving God?” In fact, I asked my pastor to write up a sermon and call it “Where Is the Loving God?” but he wouldn’t do it.
I mean, I have several friends who dedicate 2-3 months every year out of their lives to go to Haiti to help build homes, schools, etc. and in just minutes, all of their previous work is undone.
Thankfully, the emotional ties they’ve generated to those in Haiti can never be undone, but the physical labor and assistance can sure be destroyed in a heartbeat.
very sad indeed, but why blame God? So much of Haiti is influenced by Voodoo.
The Loving God is with the sufferers and also the helpers. He is on the Cross taking on our sorrows, and he is also in the boat, telling us to cast our nets one more time and trust Him. God didn’t do this to the Haitians and he doesn’t look the other way. It’s up to us to be His Hands and build things right, and comfort the dying, heal the injured, shelter the homeless and feed the hungry. And “us” includes the Haitians themselves. And His Grace will be there.
Just because ocean waves crash doesn’t mean God is indifferent to surfers. They respect the power of the waves and learn to ride them. We need to learn to ride our planet well, because it does move.
My thought is that he cannot address it. It is difficult to reconcile a "Loving God" who is believed to be omniscient and omnipotent with tragic events. It is also difficult to understand that praying to Him is going to change anything since, at the very least, He allowed it to happen. Ultimately, are not religions predominantly based on faith in their underlying premises rather than logic?
It seems to me that you answered your own question. The emotional\spiritual are lasting while the physical is fleeting.