Sentinel Watch September 5, 2011 Issue

Remove the fear factor on the Gulf Coast

Patricia Hardee

More than a year after the Gulf Coast oil spill, important questions remain unanswered. Will the huge underwater plumes of oil on the ocean floor affect the fisheries? How can the waters at the mouth of the Mississippi River and Louisiana’s coastal wetlands be restored to health? How will the financial liabilities be resolved? The oil spill was an accident that some still fear is irreversible. Perhaps the greatest fear is that it could happen again. 

When bad things happen, many turn to prayer hoping that things will get better, but prayer that rests on an understanding of God as infinite good can do more than that. Jesus expected his prayers to have results. He expected people to be healed and lives to be restored, and he assured his followers that they too could do these works.

With that in mind, our prayers can specifically address some of the challenges people are still facing along the Gulf Coast. Lingering fear, anger, and frustration over losses would argue that it’s possible to be separated from God’s love and care. Staying on this level of thought can keep people from moving forward. Our conviction that no one can be separated from God’s love helps to lift thought above these conditions and open people up to hope. 