Recently, four women’s collegiate volleyball teams made history by refusing to play against San Jose State University, a team with biological male Blair Fleming among its members.

A big development in this story just landed: a fifth volleyball team, from the University of Nevada, has joined them. Although university officials publicly declared weeks ago that their women’s team would play, the players recently came to a different decision.

They released this statement: “We demand that our right to safety and fair competition on the court be upheld. We refuse to participate in any match that advances injustice against female athletes.”

Recently, we have been reminded that the earth we walk can be unstable ground. God speaks to this instability in Psalm 75:3: “When the earth totters, and all its inhabitants, it is I who keep steady its pillars.”

This testimony is deeply relevant in our current national moment. We have watched as two consecutive hurricanes—Helene and Milton—have ravaged countless towns and cities in North Carolina, Georgia, Florida, and Tennessee. Tragically, news outlets are reporting that Hurricane Helene caused a tremendous loss of life and around $50 billion worth of damage. The emotional, spiritual, and psychological costs of these disasters go far beyond any numerical statistic.

How do Christians respond to terrible events like these?