Where to Find Comfort When Disaster Strikes

Harvey. It hasn’t been a common name during my lifetime. Until now. Most of the country will remember the name Harvey and will relate it to one of our nation’s largest natural disasters.

News outlets and social media run loops of countless scenes of devastation and loss. Homes filled with wonderful memories have been ripped apart, leaving millions without basic necessities.

I wept as I watched on TV small children being rescued from torrential rain and rising, rushing waters. Little innocent hands clinging to a single item . . .

  • A sopping-wet blanket
  • A threadbare stuffed animal
  • Abeloved family pet
  • A plastic bag with a bottle and a few diapers

My husband works as a disaster relief officer. His agency has never encountered the gravity and magnitude of loss that untold numbers of people are enduring right now.

I have found when words cannot fill the gaping wound that grief cuts open, God’s truth can coat these wounds like medicine.

I pray these passages pour into every heart reading this post, reminding us all that God is our hope and provides comfort in times of need. (New Living Translation)

Job 5:11:

He gives prosperity to the poor
and protects those who suffer.

 

Psalm 23:4, 6:

Even when I walk
through the darkest valley,
I will not be afraid,
for you are close beside me.
Your rod and your staff
protect and comfort me. . . .
Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me
all the days of my life,
and I will live in the house of the LORD
forever.

 

Psalm 28:1–2:

I pray to you, O LORD, my rock.
Do not turn a deaf ear to me.
For if you are silent,
I might as well give up and die.
Listen to my prayer for mercy
as I cry out to you for help,
as I lift my hands toward your holy sanctuary.

Lifted Hands
(Image from Pixabay)

Psalm 34:4–8:

I prayed to the LORD, and he answered me.
He freed me from all my fears.
Those who look to him for help will be radiant with joy;
no shadow of shame will darken their faces.
In my desperation I prayed, and the LORD listened;
he saved me from all my troubles.
For the angel of the LORD is a guard;
he surrounds and defends all who fear him.
Taste and see that the Lord is good.
Oh, the joys of those who take refuge in him!

 

Psalm 38:21:

Do not abandon me, O LORD.
Do not stand at a distance, my God.

 

Isaiah 41:10:

Don’t be afraid, for I am with you.
Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you.
I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.

 

Romans 15:13:

I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.

 

2 Corinthians 1:3–7:

All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort. He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us. For the more we suffer for Christ, the more God will shower us with his comfort through Christ. Even when we are weighed down with troubles, it is for your comfort and salvation! For when we ourselves are comforted, we will certainly comfort you. Then you can patiently endure the same things we suffer. We are confident that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in the comfort God gives us.

 

Let Me Hear from You

If you have ever found a passage that soothed your soul, will you please share it here? Let’s come together as a team and provide hope that will never be swept away.

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