We stand with you, Christchurch, in your hour of need. Your pain and loss is our pain and loss. Your anxiety has become our anxiety. We hurt with the hurt of our people. We mourn and are overcome with grief. Since our people are crushed, we are crushed; we mourn, and horror grips us. Christchurch, we are weeping with you. With every loss of life we have all lost life. Christchurch has been shaken and New Zealand has been shaken. Last week we held two minutes of silence in the nation as our Prime Minister looked at his shoes and wondered what the future held for New Zealand. Yet, in spite of further aftershocks in Christchurch and smaller earthquakes in Wellington, there has still been no national cry to God.
The Psalmist cries out: ‘God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble. So we will not fear when earthquakes come and the mountains crumble into the sea. Let the oceans roar and foam. Let the mountains tremble as the waters surge!’
There is a tangible real place in relationship with God that can be a real place of refuge. A place where we can be safe. There is a place in the heart of God for every person on earth who looks to Jesus’ death and resurrection for their home.
The Scriptures are clear that the litmus test to see whether we have made God our refuge can sometimes be during an earthquake. The words above state “we will NOT fear when earthquakes come”. Why? Because God has become our safety. God himself, not Church, not religion, not human philosophy, not my spouse but God himself has become my inner reality and place of escape. When everything around is shaking, when buildings are falling, when lives are being lost, when the economy is going down that will be the test of the quality of our relationship with God.
There is huge economic uncertainty in New Zealand at present. We have elected an economist as Prime Minister because many New Zealanders believe in a good economy above all else. We had hoped our Prime Minister could lead us through these times. Yet deep down we know something is ‘up’. Deep down we know we are building on sinking sand. Our house prices are stagnating as the market loses its value. And personal debt is on the rise. From comedians to politicians, from retail shoppers to McDonald’s workers, the average person knows something is very ‘wrong’ in our society.
Morally, New Zealanders are under huge strain and shaking. Abortion continues at epidemic rates, marriages seem to fail as a matter of fact as children remain abused and taken into CYFS care. Daytime and evening soap operas continue to comatose the masses. Alcohol and a cocktail of Saris (antidepressants) are the perfect refuge from the onslaught of suicidal tendencies, night terrors and anxieties swirling through our social networks.
This could be the most sobering and yet most glorious hour in New Zealand history. The Christchurch earthquake has rocked and shaken the national psyche in ways nothing else could. Earthquakes have a habit of doing that. They are sudden, unexpected and devastating. One minute we smell the roses, the next we fear for our lives.
Christchurch has been shaken. Our comfort has been shaken. Our families and livelihoods have been shaken. We have been shaken but are we stirred? Are we stirred enough to believe the words of the Psalmist and return into the open heart of God? Notice I did not say, are we stirred enough to go to church or a Christian conference. Are we stirred enough to actually return our lives to God our Father? Are we stirred enough in the midst of the shaking to gaze upon the beauty of his son Jesus who was crucified for us? Like the lost son many years ago, have we come to our senses enough to make the journey home? There is a glorious welcome waiting. God promises us a place of refuge. He promises a place of genuine intimacy and love from a Father to a child. The table is laid, the candles are lit, the food is ready, and the Father is waiting …
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