Man’s Helplessness

Natural disasters are a declaration of God’s power and man’s helplessness. They tell us that God will catch hold of us tomorrow as He has done today. Then we will have to face the consequences of our sins in eternal life.

Bangladesh is a conglomeration of a significant number of islands. Often severe tempests and cyclones hit the area, leaving immeasurable damage to life and property in their wake. According to records, the severest known storms occurred in 1876, leaving 300,000 persons dead, with commensurate losses in terms of property.

A storm again hit Bangladesh in May 1985. Cyclones of high velocity with the speed of 150 mph hit numerous littoral islands, which at the same time were lashed by four-meter-high tidal waves. Nearly 1,00,000 people lost their lives in this typhoon. Scores of villages perished in the stormy waves. One press reporter describes the scene thus:

“Urir Char.... looks like it has been bombed relentlessly. Not a single structure, save the concrete forest office stands erect. So fierce has been the force of the gale and tidal waves that the houses and building materials have been washed away, leaving behind just mounds.”

On May 29, 1985, one English newspaper described these destructive forces as “murderous cyclones which expose man’s helplessness before Nature’s fury.”

Incidents such as these help man to keep reality in mind. They are a declaration of God’s power and man’s helplessness. They tell us that God will catch hold of us tomorrow as He has done today. If a man suffers from such helplessness in the present world, how strange will be his fate when he has to face the consequences of his sins in eternal life?