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The California earthquake of April 18, 1906 ranks as one of the most significant earthquakes of all time. The fire and earthquake were like a death in the family, a reporter said. Your life is different afterward. It is the same with cities. The government said 28,188 buildings in San Francisco had been lost, 225,000 people were homeless and, 3,000 were dead.

Immediately, 1906 became a legend: It was said, it was the fire, not the quake, that did the damage. Earthquakes were bad for business. Even today, the very oldest San Franciscans talk about the Fire, never the earthquake. But we survived the disaster, by the grace of God.

If you are in your late seventies you will well remember the Great Depression which started October 29,1929, and it lasted until 1941. I recall how that my parent struggled to get by. I remember seeing my mother try to sharpen a razor blade for Dad, by placing it in a glass – with a little pressure on the blade, moving it from side to side. They were “Dealing With Disaster.” I remember going out in the fields, eating berries growing wild. But we survived this disaster; by the grace of God.

Surviving the “black blizzards” – or the Dust Bowl, which began in 1931 was part of the Great Depression. It hit the Midwestern states first, then the southern plains. In 1934 the black blizzard covered 75 percent of the country. Then in the fall of 1939 rain came. Eight years. We wore clothes that had patches over patches. But we survived this disaster; by the grace of God.

When the Japanese’s boomed Pearl Harbor December 7,1941, this brought the United State into WW two that actually started in 1939. The deeds of the Japanese extremists and of Hitler and Mussolini will long live in our minds. Victory won over evil; well, we have still not found peace or safety and we are still in the grip of dangers which are even worse than the ones we have survived. I seriously hope that a careful consideration of the past may show us the way in the years to come. But we did “Deal With Disaster” at home and abroad, and we survived this disaster; by the grace of God.

Then there was the Korean War, June 27, 1950 – Jan. 31, 1955. The Vietnam War, Aug. 5, 1964 – May 7, 1975. Then the Gulf War - Iraq War, and a number of Wars not listed. We survived the Cuba and Russia conflict – racial uprisings at home. And we survived these disasters, by the grace of God.

SEPTEMBER 11, 2001 – THE DAY THE WORLD CHANGED; [many say] the day terrorist attacked America at the World Trade Center Towers in New York City and The Pentagon in Washington.

Mart De Haan asked: “Is God in the Storm?” His comments are worth out time to read. “9/11 took us by surprise. Katrina, however, grew to hellish proportions before our very eyes. Modern technology allowed us to track this killer storm as she cut her first swath across southern Florida and then surged to catastrophic proportions in the Gulf. In the middle of our national loss, we now know where Katrina was going. But where did she come from?

In the midst and aftermath of immeasurable pain and loss, questions come to our minds. What are we to think about storms so horrific that insurance companies call them “acts of God”? Do these annual winds of destruction reflect the judgment of God? Are they the work of a powerful spiritual enemy? Or is the immeasurable heartbreak of stunned communities rooted only in the unfortunate convergence of natural events? When faced with the devastation of killer storms, the timeless wisdom of the Bible offers help. “Act of God” is misleading.” I agree with Mart De Haan.

We survived many hurricanes; with Arlene – Bret – Cindy – Dennis – Emily – Franklin – Gert –Harvey – Irene - Jose – Katrina; with many more already named for 2005. And we will Deal with Katrina, and we will survive this Disaster; by the grace of God. I realize that I have only named a few of many disasters the United States has faced. Where am I headed with all of this; just this. We have faced and dealt with many disasters in my life span, and they have been bad, and most likely we are dealing with the greatest natural disaster of all now, Katrina. And we will survive this disaster, by the grace of God.

Is there any comfort? How can God comfort us even when we have no answers? Read Job 38 –42. God's deepest comforts are not attached to answers. Job shares some insights gained on the anvil of experience.

Job lost everything - possessions, family, health - and had 3 lousy friends to boot. Job answers his friends with 3 answers: one correct answer, but 2 wrong ones:- He's correct to say it wasn't his personal sin that caused his tragedy. He's incorrect to say 1) God is uncaring, and 2) God is not in control.

We sometimes make the same incorrect assumptions about God when in crisis. In Job 31:35, Job asks the universal question: "Why?" “… my desire is, that the Almighty would answer me,…” God did respond to Job’s questions., and in Job 38-42 you will find the longest discourse in the Bible in which God speaks.

God responds to Job's questions by raising seventy questions of his own. In Job 38:4-39:30, God answers Job's charge that he is unkind. In Job 40:6-41:34, God answers Job's charge that he is not in control.

Then Job responds to God's replies. In Job 40:3-5, Job essentially says he has no right to accuse God of not caring. In Job 42:6, Job repents for saying God didn't care. The point: Job had a terrific change of mind, even though God gave no answers. Job found comfort not in answers, but in God's revealed character. We can too. And by the grace of God, we will survive this disaster.

As heart breaking all named disasters have been, nothing listed will come any where near what “The Great Tribulation” will be. I suggest that you read for yourselves what John said; starting with Revelation, Chapter 4: [Note:V.1 “..come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter.”] Disaster for those not saved.