What happens when the storms strike?

I woke up this morning to a chilly, but beautiful, sunshine-filled morning.  Praise God!  After lots of rain, it was a welcome sight.  The first headline that I saw online was that over 170 people in the south had been killed yesterday during a violent outbreak of storms and tornadoes (the count is currently at 200).  Stunning.  Sobering.  Sad.  Makes our complaints about the weather seem selfish and insignificant.  It also reminds us that whether it's rain or sunshine or tornado, it comes to us from the hand of a sovereign God.  What a comfort this is in time of calamity.   Such times must not drive us away from God, but to him.
I could go on, but let me give you something far better.  This interview by NPR with Pastor John Piper took place not long after the tsunami in Southeast Asia in 2005.  It is, hands down, THE best thing I have ever heard in response to tragedy - large scale or personal.  Whether you are mourning and repenting in the wake of what you've seen in the south or facing great personal struggle, let me encourage you to click on that link and give about 1/2 hour of your day to hear the scriptural perspective on disaster.  I did and again found comfort in the truth of who God is and what he is doing in the world.