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Disasters can shake us to our core.
They can take away everything we have,
in some cases, even our loved ones.
Faced with such tragedy,
many think these disasters are “acts of God,”
perhaps even his punishment.
Some may feel that since God,
the Creator of the universe,
has the power to control
the forces of nature,
when natural disasters occur,
they must be his doing.
We were on the fifth floor
of our apartment building
when an earthquake hit.
Everything shook,
and in just seconds the building collapsed.
The hurricane destroyed everything.
I was terrified.
When I woke up, I realized I was trapped.
I couldn’t move.
I lay there for two days
before rescuers found me.
When I was in the hospital,
my injuries were so severe
that I had to lose one of my legs.
I kept thinking: ‘We are good people.
Why would God allow
such bad things to happen to us?’
And I thought,
‘What could I have done
to make God so angry with me?’
Are natural disasters really “acts of God”?
What does the Bible say?
At 1 John 4:8,
the Bible assures us
that God’s foremost quality is love.
In fact, it says: “God is love.”
He wants us to be happy, to enjoy
all the beautiful things he created,
and to benefit from earth’s natural forces.
There is nothing in the Bible to suggest
God is presently using the forces of nature
to punish anyone—wicked or not.
Still, natural disasters
continue to happen
and bring suffering and death
to many, including good people.
Since natural disasters are not “acts of God”
and he does care about us,
why do they happen?
I learned that God does not cause suffering,
but “time and unexpected events”
may overtake any of us.
But it’s not because God is angry with us.
One day, a friend of mine,
who also lost her legs in the earthquake,
told me that Jehovah’s Witnesses
showed her from the Bible
that the earth will be a paradise.
We will have our legs again,
and we will be able to walk
and run and dance.
That gave me confidence
that God loves us very much,
and he’s going to make everything wonderful.
When I read Isaiah 35:6 where Jehovah God
promises that “the lame
will leap like the deer,”
I finally understood
that a God who would make that promise
would never hurt good people.
I had been lied to about God.
But now I know
that Jehovah’s promises are real.
The Bible clearly teaches that God
is not responsible for natural disasters.
In fact, he promises to eliminate
all causes of pain and suffering.
“Look!
“The tent of God is with mankind,
“and he will reside with them,
and they will be his people.
“And God himself will be with them.
“And he will wipe out every tear
“from their eyes, and death will be no more,
“neither will mourning nor outcry
“nor pain be anymore.
The former things have passed away.”
“The former things,”
including natural disasters,
will “have passed away.”
But if God is love,
why does he allow suffering?
How does he feel about your suffering?
How long will human suffering continue?
To learn more about what the Bible says
on this and many other topics,
go to jw.org.

Are Natural Disasters Acts of God?