New Creation...Old Creator

How can one describe Haiti? Some of the most common words are desperate, chaotic, corrupt, sad, lost, dangerous, crooked and poor. From time to time you’ll hear people (usually those who have been to Haiti) call it beautiful, captivating, passionate, devoted, and so forth. Haiti is certainly all of these things, however, usually the list of negative attributes becomes overwhelming. So overwhelming, in fact, that it is easy to label Haiti has “hopeless.”
What then do we do with a place like Haiti? How do we deal with a situation that seems to be spiraling out of control on such a large scale? It’s difficult enough when a marriage, or a household becomes chaotic or desperate… so what about an entire country in dire straits? As humans we feel overwhelmed with the desire to help change the situation so what do we do? We listen. “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and void and there was darkness over the deep, with a divine wind sweeping over the waters…” (Genesis 1:1-2 NJB).

There exists no voice of hope more refreshing than that of Genesis 1-2. In the beginning, thousands of years ago, God took chaos, formlessness, darkness…and turned it not just into earth, but heaven as well. Right this very morning, afternoon and evening, God, in Haiti, is putting to use these same ingredients to recreate a country and a people that will resemble Him. The creation account is not about dating the earth, it’s not about science, or creationism, it’s not even about the creation. It is about the CREATOR. God, through the creation account whispers in our worrisome, anxious hearts, “I am in control”. Even in Haiti and places like it. In all humility I feel privileged that He has called Stacey and I to be a part of recreating Haiti.

Do you know what my favorite part about all of this is? He does the same thing in the personal and individual lives of those who believe and trust in Him. He’s doing it in me and a lot of people around us. He takes the corrupt, crooked, chaotic, self-centeredness and recreates it into something beautiful: His own image, which is what it was intended to be.

Hopelessness doesn’t exist in the lexicon of the Creator.
--Matt