God's Grace in Crisis

By Matt Cornford

Earthquake Thoughts - A conversation with God, 20 June 2011


In my mind I see one region, surrounded by 3 previously undiscovered fault-lines. 7500 earthquakes in less than 10 months, 5 significant earthquakes causing widespread utility outage. A city that has had enough and doesn’t know if it has the strength to go again, to tidy up ONE MORE TIME.


I am asking God the question – How are You in control in this situation? Why are we hit time after time? Why is there no end to the shaking?


He speaks His response: “If each fault line went at once, it would be total carnage. If each fault line went completely in one release, even separately, total carnage.”
So I saw that, if there was no restraint in place by our I Am, there would be no more Christchurch to rebuild!


He speaks to me again and reassures me, “You will not be tested beyond what you can handle”.


Yes, the temptation is there for us to join the mass voice and say “WE HAVE HAD ENOUGH!”.

How come I didn’t see His restraint in place earlier? In my mind, it was mostly to do with the fact that people had died. The pain some feel to lose loved ones breaks my heart. But I am reminded that every day across the country, people die “too soon” in road accidents, from illness, from taking their own lives in a fit of despair, from medical mishaps, and from a wide raft of other tragedies. “So how is this any different I find myself asking?” And I realise that it’s not, in all honesty, it’s just that it happened in one fell swoop due to an abnormal force of nature that was totally outside our control. But, I Am is in control, and His plan is good, all the time.

So, what then should my response be? How can I be a voice of peace opposing the mass spirit of fear and despair? The answer comes in a clarifying impression that is two-fold.


Firstly, I can simply speak peace and revelation to those I have direct influence over at the coal face; in my job as a Physiotherapist, I come into contact with people, workmates, clients, patients, students, and each person I can minister peace to with my words.


The second aspect is equipping other people to be a similar voice in THEIR spheres of influence. I do this by attempting to bring the revelation I have received to life for them. For this to occur, I need to have positioned myself into a space where they can learn from me, where I can speak in to their lives and be an encourager to anyone.


I have seen that His restraint of the power of the earth has enabled us to live and move in a time of unparalleled questioning and hopelessness, where door after door is being opened for us to usher in his kingdom, and bring truth to those who need it.