It was an ordinary train on an ordinary journey, humming comfortably along Japan's eastern coast. Seconds later it was swept off the tracks by the ferocious waves of the tsunami and dumped, mangled and twisted, in the mud.
The terrifying ease with which it was flung from its rails near the town of Shinchi symbolizes the awesome power of the raging waters that battered Japan, leaving a trail of devastation and a nation in mourning.
One witness said he saw a truck on its side with a dead man still in the driver's seat. "Then I saw a man walking, completely black with mud, like something from a horror film," he said.
The death toll in Japan's earthquake and tsunami will likely exceed 10,000 in one state alone, an official said Sunday, as millions of survivors were left without drinking water, electricity and proper food along the pulverized northeastern coast.
According to officials, more than 1,400 people were killed — including 200 people whose bodies were found Sunday along the coast — and more than 1,000 were missing in the disasters. Another 1,700 were injured.
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so you may ask:
'If God is all-powerful and all-loving, why are there tornadoes, earthquakes, tragedies? Why does God allow bad things to happen, even to seemingly good people? ' When it comes to tragedy (no matter the scale), it is easy to let emotions drive the issue. Carried along by a current of grief, anger, or confusion, it
becomes both simple and compelling to lay the blame at God's feet for natural disasters and other accidents not caused by human beings.
The answer to why God allows anything can only be fully answered by God or by one who knows the mind of God. Outside of such knowledge, one can only speculate or try to glean hints and insights through prayer and from faith-based literature (such as, in the Christian context, the Bible).
Why do bad things happen to good people? The biblical answer is
there are no “good” people. The Bible makes it abundantly clear that all of us are tainted by and infected with sin (Ecclesiastes 7:20
; Romans 6:23
; 1 John 1:8
).
Romans 3:10-18 could not be clearer about the non-existence of “good” people: “There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one. Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit. The poison of vipers is on their lips. Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood; ruin and misery mark their ways, and the way of peace they do not know. There is no fear of God before their eyes.”
Every human being on this planet deserves to be thrown into hell at this very moment. Every second we spend alive is only by the grace and mercy of God. Even the most terrible misery we could experience on this planet is merciful compared to what we deserve, eternal hell in the lake of fire.
Yes, sometimes bad things happen to people who seem undeserving of them. But God allows things to happen for His reasons, whether or not we understand them. Above all, however, we must remember that God is good, just, loving, and merciful. Often things happen to us that we simply cannot understand. However, instead of doubting God's goodness, our reaction should be to trust Him.
Paul declares that no amount of suffering or hardship can separate a human being from the love of Christ (Romans 8:39) and that the "sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us" (Romans 8:18).
According to the Bible, a person is on this earth for only a brief time. During that brief time, human beings live in a fallen, cursed earth -- surrounded by pain, suffering, and death. That, however, is not the final destination, nor is it the whole story. If one accepts the biblical explanation for pain and suffering, one can then take comfort in the fact that God is sovereign, that pain and suffering are temporal, and that (in the end) perfect justice will be established.
so do not lose faith my dear brothers and sisters in Christ :)
GOD's plans are greater than ours.just don't stop praying.
