We cry out to God for answers. We cling to Jesus for protection. The Spirit calls us to serve.

Crises often crush us and we ask, "Why?" Why does God let these things happen to us? Jesus takes us from "why" to "who." He shows us that God cares.

We live fully when we move to "how." How should we talk about God? How should we live? Luke, Job, Paul and Silas help us here.

One day Paul and Silas planned to pray and teach at the riverside. But they were soon seized by a mob and dragged, publicly stripped, severely flogged and shackled with irons in the inner cell of a dark prison. They could have despaired and become angry with God. After all, they were in Philippi only because God called them there. Why was he not now protecting them?

But physical shackles cannot keep joy from breaking out. Bleeding and hurting, Paul and Silas sang hymns to God and prayed.

Then the surprise came. Luke tells us that as they were singing and praying, a sudden, violent earthquake shook the foundations of the prison, opened the doors and loosened everyone's chains. What a deliberate act of God! What a clear answer to prayer! Or was it?

Luke does not say. From him we learn Lesson Number One in dealing with natural disasters: don't speak beyond what you know. Luke does not say God sent the earthquake. He simply says it happened. Why it happened, Luke - an inspired writer - does not claim to know.

We who are God's children often feel we must explain our Father. The world wants answers about "acts of God" and we want to have them. But though God never explained Job's suffering, Job firmly told his friends that he refused to "speak falsely for God." We too should not pretend we know more than we do. All good things come from God and he brings good from all things for those who love him, but not all things are his fault. Ultimately, "why" discussions leave us unsatisfied. God may not answer our questions.

It is okay to say simply: "I know this happened. I do not know why."

From Paul and Silas we learn Lesson Number Two for such moments: let God use you. They took charge, calmed the frightened people around them and pointed them to Jesus. "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved-you and your household." That day of surprises that had become so dark ended in an early morning full of joy for all who came "to believe in God."

How should we respond to crises? Cry out when we need to and help the others crying around us to find and cling to Jesus.

The question is not: what is God doing? It is: what on earth are we doing for heaven's sake?