Images of flames reaching hundreds of feet into the sky are in my mind. I see the faces of evacuees who are clinging to their children and crying tears of thanks that their families are safe — but also shedding tears for lost things of the past and an uncertain future.

Please join me in prayer for the fire to be contained and extinguished, for protection for the firefighters, and for provision for the evacuees. This is the largest domestic disaster in Canada’s history, with estimates of around 2,400 structures destroyed and a fire area consuming 2,000 square kilometers (almost 500,000 acres). This is certainly going to change many people’s lives and livelihoods. Estimates for the cost to repair this devastation are predicted to be around $9 billion and could go even higher.

Having recently moved, I have just a taste of how it feels to leave your community and start over. I cannot imagine having to do this in a rush, allowed to grab only a few of my personal belongings and race to the car without any idea whether I will ever return. It was hard enough to say my goodbyes, and there is comfort in knowing that community continues even though I am far away from it. Please pray for church communities, neighborhoods, and other people groups who are now cut off from their support systems. Praise God for the compassionate strangers in Edmonton and other cities who have welcomed displaced people into their homes, schools, and churches. May we all stand ready to help those in need and most vulnerable.

In the midst of all of this chaos and disruption, God’s word goes before His children. We can stand on the firm foundation of His promises even as fire consumes us and the sea threatens to overcome us. Today, my scripture reading came from John 14, and I was struck by God’s promise to prepare a place for us. “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. And you know the way to where I am going.”

Even with Jesus standing physically before them and speaking these words, His followers still had their fears and their doubts. Both Thomas and Philip desired more specifics and information (I think that I might have asked this as well). Jesus tells them to believe, to do the works that He has done, and promises that He does not leave us as orphans. He is our home, our parent, and our hope. He covers our troubled hearts with peace that only God can give. May the people of Fort McMurray experience that deep peace in the difficult days ahead.

Carol Bremer-Bennett

Director
World Renew US