Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshiped. 21And he said, “Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord. (Job 1:20-21)

The news from central Texas yesterday was devastating. A tropical depression stopped in that region and dumped almost a year's worth of rain. Worse was the time it did this - the middle of the night. What was a once-in-a-hundred year rainstorm became a tragedy of immense proportions.

Having friends in the area, I was following along to see how the rains were impacting them, their church, and an area we've all grown to love known as the Guadalupe River system with its flowing waters home to summer visitors - RV parks, businesses all along the river, city parks, state parks, and camps. Tragically, many of these businesses and people in them were swept away. In looking at the news, the revised number of dead stands at 48, with many still missing.

It is a tragedy of Joban proportions. Our help, is in the name of the Lord.

The words of Psalm 22:1-2 are echoed by Christ during His crucifixion,

"My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from my cries of anguish?

2My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer, by night, but I find no rest."

We pray they know God hears their prayers and that His love is present.

We pray for those who have lost loved ones as well as those who cling to hope but fear the worst. We ask God to send His Spirit to provide comfort. May God's comfort at the loss of life for those directly impacted last as they grieve and may those who minister to them be guided by God's Spirit to listen, and when they do speak, give measured words that add to the comfort as they mourn.

We pray for those who are risking their lives in a search for those who are missing, and for the families of the missing. Their hope remains that God answers their prayer, our prayer, that their loved one(s) is/are found.

We pray for those in leadership as they assess and determine next steps quickly. We ask God to give them strength and guidance in critical hours.

We give thanks for those who have been rescued. We pray they heal from their wounds, possibly physical and certainly emotional, and that they are surrounded by love from family and friends.

As the church gather each week, we ask that God give our pastors a measure of wisdom to help us steer through tragedy, local and in our state/nation.

We pray for those who suffer loss in our midst. We pray for the family of James Wuensche, who passed away Friday night. We pray for all who face loss.

We pray for those who battle illness.

In all we pray for, we ask for forgiveness from our own sin and that we hear God's message of grace and mercy given to us from the sacrificial act of giving us His Son, who suffered, died and rose again.

In all we say or do, we turn to You, O God. In our time of gladness, and in our time of suffering, we turn to you giving thanks and asking for your grace, mercy, forgiveness, and help.

In Christ's name, Amen