When the Floods Came Near

I became aware of Irene as she formed out in the Atlantic, gaining strength as she moved eastward towards landfall.  At that time she was projected to sweep over Florida like a sock, from the tip to the ankle of the peninsula.  With friends living on the Florida coast I made it a point to watch the weather, to become aware of the threat to my loved ones.  They, in turn, had a plan for waiting it out or evacuation should the threat of weather turn reality.

But Irene didn't come for Florida; she turned north, and headed for me.

The Weather Channel meteorologists became like prophets issuing warnings against the coming calamity.  Standing in the great cities, in the path of the oncoming storm, the ones who knew what was to come called for evacuation, for precautionary actions, for common sense, and for seriousness.  They issued the warnings because they knew what was to come for us; but who had an ear to hear?

Two mindsets seemed to emerge in the lead-up to the hurricane hitting Upstate New York: the Aware, and the Arrogant.  The Aware had an eye on the television and the internet; they surveyed what potential damage would be done in their area; they monitored the path of the hurricane and planned ahead for the time of impact; they stocked up on provisions whether they would be needed or not; they took seriously the potential threat to life and property.  The Arrogant didn't seem to think they needed to worry about the threat of a hurricane in Upstate New York; they said things like, "We won't get hit," or, "We're in the valley, we won't get anything," or even mocked the potential of the storm; eschewing water or canned goods, they stocked up on beer at the store; they didn't watch the news, or when they did only heard what they wanted; they insisted that the storm would not interfere with their plans.  Worse yet, the Arrogant mocked the Aware for their plans and preparation, insisting on the foolishness of taking such a storm so seriously.

The prophets were right.  The storm passed almost right overhead.  It dropped over five inches of rain in Albany (that's the equivalent of dropping over four feet of snow).  The Mohawk River flooded.  The Hudson River flooded.  Schoharie County is decimated.  Downtown Troy, Schenectady, and Waterford are under water.  Bridges are closed or even washed away.  Whole towns are destroyed.  Dams broke.  People were evacuated.  Homes were washed away.  People died.

And still many are calling all the coverage "hype."  There is now backlash against the media for being too dramatic, making the storm out to be more than it was so that everyone would be more safe than sorry.

I guess a prophet really is without honor in his own country.  (Did we wish for more death, more destruction, in order to validate our own expectation for excess?)

Another prophesied of the signs of the times, and it was His words that have resounded with me these past few days.  I never thought I would witness such a clear example of what He spoke of, but Jesus said these words about His return:

"For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man" (Matthew 24:37-39).

I've been thinking of Noah.  Noah was instructed to build an ark on dry ground.  He was instructed by the Lord to prepare for a catastrophe that hadn't come yet, whose evidence of coming chaos could not be detected or seen.  Certainly he was mocked.  Certainly those around him eating and drinking and having a good time tried to dissuade him from his work, to come eat and drink and have a good time with them.  Noah was undeterred.  He continued his work, aware and awake to the threat at hand.  (One could say he went to Home Depot and bought his plywood and nails before the lines, watched the Weather Channel, stocked up on drinkable water and canned goods, and stayed tuned in to the track of the storm.)  When the rain began and the floods started inundating the land and washing houses, crops, and lives away, it was too late.  I've heard pastors expound upon the image of those left behind pounding on the door to the ark, the drowning masses letting out cries for help until their voices faded away.

Noah was certain of what he had been warned of, and even though his children were probably not warned directly by God, they trusted the leadership of their father and his wary words, and came alongside him to prepare for the storm.  I'm certain the Lord would have let anyone willing to come alongside in seriousness and urgency to enter the ark with Noah's family.  But no one else did.

Jesus says His return will be like those days.  There will be a small number of those who are aware of the coming chaos, like the sons of Issachar, "men who had understanding of the times" (1 Chronicles 12:32).  They will be the ones who, while the skies are still blue and the sun shinning, will be planning evacuation routes; they will be the ones placing their trust in the Lord's guidance and walking by faith whether they understand or not.  They will be the ones who see the storm coming, not the ones asleep who are roused by a knock on their door by the fire department telling them to get out.  They will be the ones committing their lives to prayer and holiness, waiting and watching eagerly for the return of King - not the ones left outside of the gates at the final judgement.

Just as it is with Hurricane Irene or the coming Messiah, we are told to “...stay awake—for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or in the morning—lest he come suddenly and find you asleep. And what I say to you I say to all: Stay awake" (Mark 13:35-37).

In the end there will be no excuse.  It's not so much now to answer why you weren't ready for the hurricane; it will make all the eternal difference at the end when you are asked, "Why weren't you ready for the end of all things?"