September 16 - Disastrous Weather

       Psalm 46:8 - "Come and see the works of Yahweh, the desolations he has brought on the earth."

       I have often wondered and pondered why God allows tornados, hurricanes, and floods - "natural" disasters, as the world calls them.  Is the weather simply a matter of seasonal course of events that God set in motion in Genesis 8:22?  Or is God  interactive in the  weather that we experience?  If he is interactive, why must he bring such devastation?  After all, this planet does belong to him.  Psalm 24:1 states, "The earth is Yahweh's and everything in it; the world and all who live in it." 
 Every time a hurricane slams the Caribbean, United States, or more frequently, the western Pacific, I marvel at the paths thereof, and their destructive inherency.  The leading scripture above comes to mind.  Despite the fallen nature of this planet, we still see such striking beauty in the creation.  And then, in a matter of a few days, a relatively small island is devastated, such as Barbuda was, from Hurricane Irma in 2017. 
        The Hebrew word for desolations in the above Psalm is "shaw-moht", meaning a waste or horror.  It is also found in many verses in Jeremiah and Isaiah, as they relate to judgment upon Jerusalem, Israel, or Babylon, as a result of their sinfulness.  The context of Psalm 46 seems a bit ambiguous as it relates to this verse.  The writer was mostly thinking about God being our help in the midst of trouble, whether it was from nature or from war.  He was most certainly not thinking about a hurricane, living in 9th-century Palestine, although Job chapter 1 may have been in the back of his mind, recalling the disaster that happened to Job's family at the power of Satan through the arm of nature, allowed by God. 
        I don't have a clear understanding of why this destructive phenomenon occurs.  However, I know that Psalm 46:1 was written for our encouragement as believers.  "God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.  Therefore, we will not fear, though the earth gives way, and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, and the mountains quake with their surging."  Trusting that God's judgments are righteous and true is the key in continuing life with a positive and beneficial attitude after such "desolations".