Earthquake! Earthquake! Earthquake!

Vermini Sanasam *

Manipur earthquake with magnitude 6·8 near Imphal in early morning January 4 2016 :: Pix - Deepak Oinam

Yes. There was the earthquake which shook Manipur on 4th January, 2016 when every soul in Manipur was sleeping. Everyone must have gone to bed the previous night planning and making appointments for the next day just like me. Nobody would have anticipated that such earthquake would affect our lives in so many ways.

When morning came, all we heard was the news of loss and devastation which the earthquake brought upon the people of Manipur. Some people lost much property. Some lost their near and dear ones.

Then there were the "eemas" of Ima Keithel who made a dig at the engineers, ministers, officials and the Chief Ministers. Come to think of it, were they responsible for it? No. nobody is to be blamed.

That very morning when the earth quaked, a very terrifying question came to my mind. I questioned myself, "What if I never got out of the bed to see another day again?", "What if the earthquake wiped each and every one of us completely?", "What if that very instant was my last moment?" We never know.

An earthquake is a natural phenomenon just like the Tsunami. Scientists, geologists and experts explain that earthquakes are caused due to the tectonic movement underneath the earth's surface. Rational Science says this. I agree. But at the sametime, I could not help wondering what could have instigated the sudden movement of these tectonic plates. What would have instigated those whatever stuffs underneath the earth so that it could severely harm the earth?

I am pretty sure that every one of us believes that there is a creator who created and fashioned each one of us. Even if we don't see it, we understand it by faith. If a creator creates something, that creator surely knows it's creations, and has a complete knowledge of each of them. And I am pretty sure that Creator is still in control even today.

There is a passage in the Bible which says that there is a creator, the Almighty living God who has the power to perform inexplicable things beyond human understanding. In the book of Isaiah, it says- "I am the LORD, and there is no other; apart from me there is no God. I will strengthen you,though you have not acknowledged me, so that from the rising of the sun to the place of its setting men may know there is none besides me. I am the LORD, and there is no other. I form the light and create darkness, I bring prosperity and create disaster; I, the LORD, do all these things." (Isaiah 45: 5 to 7).

This passage points out that this Creator creates and causes earthly phenomena at will. Hence, this Creator is in complete control. And if this Creator knows everything about its creation, the question arises why does the Creator allow destructive calamities to happen to us and to the place where we take shelter in? Maybe there is a reason. Many of us are living in spiritual darkness; confused, frustrated, disturbed and fearful. And this hampers our relationship with the Creator and creates a void of darkness in us. Let the light come into your heart by faith.

Only true Christians who have a burden for the lost souls pray for an outpouring of God's spirit upon a willful, evil, unrepentant world. We the United Christian Women Manipur pray that God may be merciful to our state and save us from all sorts of impending danger. We pray for the salvation of our people. Christian saints of God pray that the dew of Heaven may fall on earth's dry, thirsty ground and that righteousness may cover the earth as the waters cover the sea.

Today if we will turn the searchlight of truth and peace on the dark side of our spirits and let the living God become the master and controller of our lives, a new day will dawn for us. Please submit your hearts, your entire being and the rest of your remaining life to Almighty God. God has said in 2Chronilces 7:14, "If my people who are called by My name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from Heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land."

God desires that people be concerned and be burdened for our lost world. If we pray this kind of prayer, an era of peace may come to the world and the hordes of wickedness will be turned back. Basically, the problem is the problem with our hearts. Our hearts need to be changed. If we are unwilling to change, peace will never come to us until we change our human nature.

Until people begin loving each other, instead of hating each other. So many of us ask God to change the circumstances to suit our desires, instead of us conforming our wills to His. Do not let circumstances distress you. Rather, look for the will of God for your life to be revealed in and through those circumstances. God is the supreme Judge, Almighty God, and we thank Him that even though we did not deserve forgiveness, our judgement was paid by His beloved Son, Jesus Christ.

There are a thousand ways you have turned trying to find peace, but you have not found it. When you come to God by and act of faith, He gives you the Holy Spirit, who produces the fruit of the Spirit and gives you the peace that passeth all understanding. Thousands of people can witness that they have actually experienced the peace of God and have found it wonderfully adequate for this present day. Bible says in Deuteronomy 32:39, "See now that I, even I, am He, and there is no god with me: I kill, and I make alive; I wound, and I heal: neither is there any that can deliver out of my hand."

When we look around Manipur today, we see a lot of wickedness happening around us. There is no place for truth in our state. Truth has become retarded. Manipur has become a violent state. Each community has become self-concerned, never seeking the welfare of the other communities. There is communal disharmony, hatred, murder, extortion and all sorts of wickedness. We have become selfish, unloving and unforgiving. The Creator sees all these.

And such wickedness provokes God. As we understand God, the Creator we believe that God is a holy God, and righteousness is what defines God. All our wickedness is repulsive to God because there is no room for such wickedness in God's perfect holiness. The Creator must be grieved at seeing our way of life and wicked behavior. Maybe the Creator wants to wake us up by shaking us from our wickedness.

We must never forget that we are God's creations and hence we must live our lives in such a way that it will reflect the Creator's glory. When the earthquake shook Manipur, even our hearts trembled. May we all look to the Creator with fear and in awe.Let us all leave our wickedness behind and turn our hearts to the Creator, henceforth live our lives pleasing our Creator.

Let us all pray for Manipur so that our state will be free from the wrath of the God, and that our state would enjoy security, peace and prosperity withGod's blessings. God bless everyone. Amen