“For all creation is waiting eagerly for that future day when God will reveal who his children really are. Against its will, all creation was subjected to God’s curse. But with eager hope, the creation looks forward to the day when it will join God’s children in glorious freedom from death and decay. For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. And we believers also groan, even though we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, for we long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering. We, too, wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as his adopted children, including the new bodies he has promised us.” (Romans 8:19–23, NLT)
From color, to black and white.
From vibrant, to desolate.
From historic, to history making.
A brush fire, stoked by unrelenting and powerful winds. Destruction with a tailwind.
Creation groans. And we lament.
Unimaginable devastation measured by a stopwatch rather than a calendar. A fire that moved a mile a minute.
Creation, outside of the Garden.
A mob of incineration. Unleashed because of a broken world. And most tragically of all, it destroyed over 100 of God’s most precious creations. Image bearers who were assaulted by a creation out of control. Paradise transformed into an unescapable prison. Life extinguished while the flames couldn’t be.
God put it this way to Adam in the Garden after their rebellion…
the ground is cursed
because of you.
All
your life you will struggle to scratch a living from it.
It will grow thorns and
thistles for you… (Genesis 3:17-18, NLT)
Thorns and thistles… and fires in Lahaina.
Creation groans. And we lament.
Polluted perfection.
And yet…
“Those
who live in the shelter of the Most High
will
find rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
This I declare about
the Lord:
He alone is my refuge, my
place of safety;
he is
my God, and I trust him.
For he will rescue you from
every trap
and
protect you from deadly disease.
He will cover you with his
feathers.
He
will shelter you with his wings.
His
faithful promises are your armor and protection.
Do not be afraid of the
terrors of the night,
nor
the arrow that flies in the day. (Psalm 91:1-5, NLT)
He alone.
My refuge.
My place of safety.
He is my God.
And yes, I trust Him.
Indeed. Creation groans. And we lament.
Even creation looks forward to the day when it will join God’s children in glorious freedom from death and decay.
“He who testifies to all these things says it again: “I’m on my way! I’ll be there soon!” Yes! Come, Master Jesus!” (Revelation 22:20, MSG)
Yes! Come, Master Jesus!
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