MAKING SENSE OF MELISSA

Sometimes, a tragedy arrives like a divine signpost, urging us to pivot in our lives. It might spotlight a harmful habit we've ignored or a neglected responsibility calling for attention.

The Hebrew words for "whirlwind" are סוּפָה (sufah), סַעַר (sa'ar), and שְׂעָרָה (se'arah). These words are also translated as "storm", "tempest", "to rage" and are often used in biblical contexts to describe a violent and awe-inspiring force.

The word "whirlwind" appears in the Bible in multiple passages and is associated with dramatic events, God's power, judgment, and divine encounters. Here are several key locations where "whirlwind" is found:

2 Kings 2:1, 2:11: Elijah is famously taken up into heaven by a whirlwind.

Job 38:1; 40:6: God answers Job out of the whirlwind, symbolizing divine revelation and authority.

Job 37:9: Mentions the whirlwind coming out of the south.

Isaiah 66:15: God's chariots are likened to a whirlwind when executing judgment.

Jeremiah 23:19; 30:23: The "whirlwind of the Lord" represents God's wrath against the wicked.

Ezekiel 1:4: The vision of a whirlwind coming out of the north, introducing Ezekiel's prophetic visions.

Proverbs 1:27; 10:25: Used figuratively to describe sudden calamity or destruction.

Zechariah 7:14; 9:14: The whirlwind is associated with God's scattering of the people and marching with power.

Hosea 8:7: "They sow the wind and reap the whirlwind," referencing the consequences of wrongdoing.

As Jonah, I can appreciate the prophet Nahum's words of what God has to say about Nineveh: 

Nahum 1:2-3 The Lord is a jealous and avenging God;
    the Lord is avenging and wrathful;
the Lord takes vengeance on his adversaries
    and keeps wrath for his enemies.
The Lord is slow to anger and great in power,
    and the Lord will by no means clear the guilty.
His way is in whirlwind and storm,
    and the clouds are the dust of his feet.

All these examples underscore "whirlwind" as a recurring scriptural symbol and event. The use of "whirlwind" in these references is both literal (as a physical phenomenon) and symbolic of God's might, judgment, sudden change, or divine intervention.

What To Make Of Melissa:

The most powerfull "whirlwind" in Atlantic history has just hit Jamaica -- Hurricane Melissa. Many are asking if the storm is "a sign."

I am sure there is a price to pay for sin, and sometimes the price is excruciatingly high and difficult. But I am nobody to judge Jamaica, or to say Melissa has come to them as an act of judgment!  A sign of the times...?

Bill Gated has ironc timing! 

Gates appeared to soften his views on the dangers of climate change, writing that the "doomsday view of climate change" – in which global catastrophe would occur if rising global temperatures aren’t addressed – "is wrong."

Gates stated his, apparently new, view on "climate change" just as Category 5 Hurricane Melissa, with record wind speeds and low pressure, reaps death and destruction on Jamaica.  How ironic!?

Heaven Help One Caught In the Path

King David said in Psalm 55:8 (ESV): "I would hurry to find a shelter from the raging wind and tempest".  

Many pray and call for prayers for the innocent people caught in the path of a dangerous storm. Others wonder what sin brought out God’s wrath. While most people attribute events purely to science, there are many who chalk it all up to choas and simple good or bad luck.  

Natural disasters happen every day somewhere. Should we believe each & every incident is caused by the devine will of God to punish people?  Or is their another way to look at such tragedies, whether they take place in our own life or to people and places we don't know? 

How I Like To See It 

Asking why tragedy strikes or "how could this have happened," in search of something to blame, takes one down a rabbit hole. As they say,  _hit happens, but when it does, it is also a reminder of how precious life and our loved ones are!  

Tragedies can be "a sign" to cherish life and to take stock of our blessings.  When we see them as such, that awareness manifests a sense of gratitude. I try to turn that gratitude into a love that can be directed to others.  There are many ways to express gratitude! Use your own imagination to find a way. 

Turning Tragedy Around By Turning Ourselves Around

Sometimes a tragedy is "a sign" to change something in our life.  We all have bad behaviors that hurt us and others. There are duties we are neglecting. 

Take "Hurricane Melissa"—a stark reminder to audit our home's storm readiness or craft a family disaster plan before the winds howl. 

There are countless ways to alchemize tragedy into blessing: an act of seeking the silver lining amid the wreckage, where something profoundly good emerges from the depths of the bad. As Scripture assures us, "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose" (Romans 8:28, ESV).