Perhaps I am looking in the wrong direction, but I presume Hashem knows what he is doing, and if disasters are indeed messages or tests, they are so for humankind.
To paraphrase Ed Koch, “how’m I doing?”
In a huge hurricane that would have killed hundreds or thousands only a few score years ago, only about 40 people died. A handful of Jews died, mostly while trying to save the lives of others. There was relatively little property damage, in comparison, due to improved building codes and methods. Storm prediction was splendid, so we all had days to prepare. People worked together to aid each other, and they heeded the advice of the very knowledgable emergency management authorities. All in all, suffering and inconvenience was minimized.
This is truly the result of humans continuing the work of creation and helping to repair the world.
Earlier this summer I saw thousands of people volunteer in the search for Leiby. Most were Jews, but there were oeople there of many different skin hues and backgrounds. The results were still disastrous, but I saw great hope in the way so many people pulled together in hope of averting a disaster.
Am I the only person who gets hope from these ‘potches’ and sees that if we are being tested, we have behaved admirably?