BANDA ACEH, JANUARY 5: US Secretary of State Colin Powell flew over the worst scenes of devastation from Asia’s tsunami on Wednesday and said it was more horrifying than wars he had witnessed during decades as a soldier…
…”I have been in war and I have been through a number of hurricanes, tornados and other relief operations, but I have never seen anything like this,” said America’s former top soldier.
Powell, 67, served two combat tours in Vietnam during a 35-year military career that ended with his service as the country’s military chief. ”I cannot begin to imagine the horror that went through families and all of the people who heard this noise coming and then had their lives snuffed out by this wave,” he said.
Nearly 100,000 people, about two-thirds of all those killed by the tsunami, died in Aceh province on Sumatra.
Dean Yates
Indian Express, January 6, 2005
Analysis:
Colin Powell’s statement while visiting the coast of India serves to enlighten us with regard to the extent of the destruction left by the massive wave. Some estimates project that up to 500,000 will eventually be confirmed as dead from this great tragedy.
Many lessons can be learned from the tragedy and its aftermath. One obvious one is the realization of how impotent we are. We may fool ourselves into thinking that we are the masters of our world, but in reality it is not true. Such natural disasters constantly remind us that we are not in control. The Bible reveals to us, however, that God is. Remember the statement of God to Job? “Or who shut the sea with doors, When it burst forth and issued from the womb; When I made the clouds its garment, And thick darkness its swaddling band; When I fixed My limit for it, And set bars and doors; When I said, This far you may come, but no farther, And here your proud waves must stop!” (Job 38:8-11).
While man is unable to avert such natural forces, God created “the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). Surely the One who is omnipotent is the One we must submit to in devotion and humility. Let us always remember that God doesn’t need us; rather we are the ones who need God!
