THE MOST HIGH’S WAYS IN THE HIGH WAVES
(Biblical light on the Tsunami in Japan)
High sea waves called ‘TSUNAMI’ lashed at the scores of the coastal areas of Japan on 11th March 2011. They are on their way to attack the shores of other countries. It was a killer tsunami to be precise. Thousands perished within the blink of an eye. Countless became homeless. The world went penickly as a result. “Why on earth this happen?”, was the oft repeated query. An examination of passages in the Bible where storms and squalls are talked about will help us see this tidal tragedy in God’s perspective and take home some life lessons. Yes,we can dicover the most High’s ways in the High waves. Here are some of the lessons that could be learn.
1. REVERE- It was God who made the seas and also gave the command: ‘This far you may come and no further; here is where your proud waves halt” (Job 38:11). It is God who sets a “boundary the waters cannot cross” (Ps.104:9). So, if we find the sea sweeping into the land, it is because God gave permission to do so. Yes, it is true that God allowed “the proud wave” of the sea to march manacingly into the plains. What does that tells us about God? It tells us that He can command a clout over the sea. Hear Ethan’s glowing tribute to the Almighty,”you rule over the surging sea; when its waves mount up ,you still them”(Ps89:9). He can still the waves also: “He stilled the roaring of the seas, the roaring of the waves”(Ps.65:7). Who can forget that Jesus ,the son of God ,rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quite, be stil”? The wild wind died down and the stormy sea was completely calm in an act of instant obedience. Following this, Jesus’ disciples asked each other in reverence and awe. “ who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey Him” (Mark 4:35-41). The sea obeys His commands. It became violent when His prophet Jonah took a voyage in direct disobedience to His will. “Then the Lord sent a great wind on the sea and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up”- that is what we read (Jonah 1:4).
As the world gets more and more modern and sophisticated, we tend to think that we can do away with God. We have sadly lost our reverence for Him. We are inclined to forget that there is an all-powerful God who is in absolute control of this world. The giant waves that shook the world on 11th March 2011 is a sobering reminder that we ought to revere Him always since He is the Lord of the universe.
2. REPENT- The Titanic Tsunami waves that hit us call us to repent. We hear bitter complaints that ‘innocent ‘ lives were lost. According to the Bible, no one is innocent in this entire planet. All of us have sinned and have fallen short of the glory of God (Rom.3:23). All of us deserved to die and go to eternal hell. In that case, how many of the victims of the horrible Tsunami were lost eternally? We do know. But we who have escaped these waves are no more righteous than those who perished in it. Let us remember that it is to those escaped the Siloam Tower crash that Jesus preached, “Do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish” (Luke 13:4). The lesson for us from the breakers devastation is plain: breakdown in repentance before the Almighty before it is too late. One reason we must repent without any delay is that the return of Jesus Christ is near- a fact which is evidenced by the multiplication of earthquakes in recent times (Matthew 24:7). Even on march 11,2011 there were a series of earthquakes that caused terrible turbulence in the seas. Jesus preached, “As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the son of Man”(Matthew 24:37). Yes, He definitely meant that the morals of the people living on the earth would slide for the worse as the morals of the people who lived in Noah’s time did. One of the reasons for the Great flood in Noah’s day was that ,”all the springs of the great deep burst forth”. Did not something similar happen on March 11? Jesus is coming real soon and we must repent and turn to Him.
3. REQUEST- Can you guess what happened during some of their voyages when Isreal’s merchants went out in the sea seeking to do trade? Something similar to the distressing events of that fateful day happened. Hear it from the mouth of the Psalmist: “God spoke and stirred up a tempest, that lifted high the waves. They mounted up to the heavens and went down to the depths, in their peril their courage melted away. They reeled and straggered like drunken men, they were at their wits’ end”(Psalm 107:25-27). How did the Jewish merchants respond to such a life threatening quall? Read the very next set of verses: “Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and he brought them out of their distress. He stilled the storm to a whisper, the waves of the sea were hushed. They were glad when it grew calm, and He guided them to their desired haven” (vv.28-30). We all must call on the Lord like them, following our life’s traumatic tempests as the first resort. When we are faced with storms in our lives,we run helter skelter trying to solve the problem ourselves or seeking the help of man we would rather do anything but get on our knees and request God’s intervention in our problems first. The lesson these recent big billows want to drive home is direct: call on God who alone can calm the squall- not just the one that occur in the sea, but also in our lives and do it as the first resort. If we even doubt the power of God to provide an answer for our requests in accordance with His soverign will, we are like unsteady waves (Jas.1:6).
4. REACH- When the ship Paul sailed on was tossed around by the typhoon, Paul was surprisingly calm (Acts 27:14-15). The reason? He maintained constant communication with His maker who gave him the calm assurance that “ not one would lose a single hair from his head” (Acts 27:23,24,34). Not only that , he grabbed the opportunity to tell many who were scared by the furious squall about the “God he served”(Acts 27:24). I guess Paul would have referred to the miracle in which Jesus calm the storm in the gospels to add fuel to the faith in the hearts of His franctic co-passengers. He even converted eating time into witnessing time when He was in the ship that tossed by the wild blizzard (Acts 27:35). The sad events can served as an excellent backdrop for us to share the gospel with those who do not know Christ. The only thing sin can do to our lives is to make us restless. The Bible compares the wicked to a “tossing sea”, which cannot rest whose waves cast up mire and mud(Isa.57:20). But there is hope for us. Jesus came to this world to die for our sins. He now says,’come to me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest’ (Matt.11:28). Like Apostle Paul,let us avail this opportunityto reach out to the lostwith the life giving gospelof our Lord Jesus Christ. Yes, any discussion about the high waves of March 11 can be deliberately guided into a discussion about the Most High God’s plan of salvation.
