By Terence Phlint Razerera
When we witnessed the devastation of Japan by a record breaking earthquake that was followed by a Tsunami that swept away houses, cars and everything and everyone in its way, we were shocked greatly at a natural destruction of that magnitude. However, Japan has been greatly recommended for its disaster preparedness which saw the head count lower than it could have been. As the Japanese fights a nuclear scare our prayers are with them. Going through the events, as a Christian I begin to wonder why God has allowed such a disaster to occur.
When the first floods came on earth in the time of Noah, God wanted to destroy a people He was not happy with. He gave Noah the opportunity to take his family and animals in an ark He had instructed Noah to build. After the forty days and forty nights of flooding came to an end a new day arose and He promised never again to destroy the world with floods (Genesis 9:8-17). God even created the rainbow as a sign of His promise. So when we witness such a Tsunami as the one that hit Japan we wonder if the Lord is going back on His word, why? As I pondered on this question I realise that God is not going back on His word, I came across some reasons why God allows such suffering.
God is warning us
At times when we go the wrong way or when we do something wrong God warns us of the dangers we are getting into. He can let something bad happen to us as a warning of a potentially worse disaster happening to us. Our God is a caring God and rather than letting us go totally off track He sends warning signs that something bad is happening in our existence. I can imagine if the Japan disaster was just a warning what could have been the disaster awaiting this world?
God is reminding us
There are times we tend to forget the power of the Lord and start marvelling at our own abilities, God is not happy with us. The honour and the glory belong to the Lord, we are only instruments used to assure that the glory and the honour is given unto Him. So when we tend to go off on our own He is there to remind us that He is still in control watching over us. He never leaves nor forsakes us but we are the ones quick to hit the highway when we seem to be in a comfortable zone, so He reminds us the hard way. He takes away the comfort for a while.
There are many reasons we can come up with as to why God allows these things to happen to us, I believe in Him and hold on to the promises of His word that He has great plans for us, plans to prosper us and not destroy (Jeremiah 29:11). So in all these happenings we have a lot of learning to do, but one thing I can assure you, never stop believing!
When the first floods came on earth in the time of Noah, God wanted to destroy a people He was not happy with. He gave Noah the opportunity to take his family and animals in an ark He had instructed Noah to build. After the forty days and forty nights of flooding came to an end a new day arose and He promised never again to destroy the world with floods (Genesis 9:8-17). God even created the rainbow as a sign of His promise. So when we witness such a Tsunami as the one that hit Japan we wonder if the Lord is going back on His word, why? As I pondered on this question I realise that God is not going back on His word, I came across some reasons why God allows such suffering.
God is warning us
At times when we go the wrong way or when we do something wrong God warns us of the dangers we are getting into. He can let something bad happen to us as a warning of a potentially worse disaster happening to us. Our God is a caring God and rather than letting us go totally off track He sends warning signs that something bad is happening in our existence. I can imagine if the Japan disaster was just a warning what could have been the disaster awaiting this world?
God is reminding us
There are times we tend to forget the power of the Lord and start marvelling at our own abilities, God is not happy with us. The honour and the glory belong to the Lord, we are only instruments used to assure that the glory and the honour is given unto Him. So when we tend to go off on our own He is there to remind us that He is still in control watching over us. He never leaves nor forsakes us but we are the ones quick to hit the highway when we seem to be in a comfortable zone, so He reminds us the hard way. He takes away the comfort for a while.
There are many reasons we can come up with as to why God allows these things to happen to us, I believe in Him and hold on to the promises of His word that He has great plans for us, plans to prosper us and not destroy (Jeremiah 29:11). So in all these happenings we have a lot of learning to do, but one thing I can assure you, never stop believing!
