Thousands of people have been killed or injured after a 7.8 magnitude earthquake and major aftershocks hit Turkey and Syria. The earthquake occurred on 6th February 2023 but aftershocks added to the devastation and loss of life. The impact of the earthquake has been made more catastrophic by the size of the area affected, the winter weather, the remoteness and relative poverty of some of the communities, the poor infrastructure and housing and the fact that one of the countries impacted, Syria, is in the middle of a civil war.
A massive international rescue operation is underway but the scale of the loss of life and the devastation is still emerging.
Anyone looking at the scenes from Turkey and Syria might reasonably ask 'Where is God in this?' or 'How could God allow this to happen?' These are questions that can challenge the faith of even the most mature Christian but for young people just starting out on their faith journey they can be particularly difficult to reconcile with their understanding of God as a loving caring father.
You may just want to provide opportunities for young people to just share how they are feeling about this news story. You may want to provide opportunities for prayer and reflection. You may want to look to see what opportunities there are to offer practical help to the people in Turkey and Syria by supporting the aid agencies.
The above video was filmed at a Reboot Conference a few years ago. The conference is organised by the Oxford Centre for Christian Apologetics and is specifically designed to allow young people to ask questions about life and faith and hear the responses from some leading Christian thinkers and theologians. In this video Sharon Dirckx addresses the question, 'Why does God allow natural disasters?'
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e32nt8-wmLo&t=281s
What did the young people think about what Sharon shared? Is there anything that surprised or challenged them?
Did it help answer the questions that they have or raise more questions?
How might we see God at work even amidst the devastation that the earthquake has caused?
How can we individually or as a group respond to this disaster?
Pray for all those impacted by this earthquake - for families who have lost loved ones, for those who are injured and for those who have lost homes and livelihoods. Ask God to bring comfort and help to these communities.
Pray for those who are seeking to help those in need - for governments and aid agencies, for doctors, nurses and civilian volunteers. Ask God to provide these organisations and individuals with everything they need to be able to offer help and raise up a spirit of generosity in governments and individuals in other nations to provide the best possible aid.
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