Tragedy for Japan
Like the rest of the world, in March 2011 I was riveted to my TV set, watching the disaster videos coming out of Japan. A 9.1 seaquake under the Pacific triggered a tsunami which struck the Japanese coast 2 1/2 hours later, killing 20,000 people.
There is one Japanese video that hit me the hardest.
The guy filming the disaster, along with many others, had heard the tsunami sirens and moved to higher ground. Standing on a mountainside, they could see the entire city and the ocean beyond. At the base of the mountain was a large mansion and the onlookers could see 4 or 5 tiny people walking in the area behind the mansion. It looked like the highest place within the city. As the video plays, you can hear and see the Japanese on the mountainside frantically gesturing for the people in the courtyard to climb up.
But no one did.
Another Tsunami? No Big Deal
To the handful of people below, it didn’t make sense. Logic told them they were safely standing on higher ground, so why the urgency? Earthquakes happen in Japan every year. The warning sirens had gone off before. In fact, between 1964 and the end of 2016, Japanese earthquakes had caused 9 different tsunamis. But all the others had been much smaller. The tsunami striking northeast Japan on March 11, 2011 generated the largest, most destructive waves in 239 years.
Unfortunately, the Japanese people in the courtyard couldn’t see the danger because the mansion blocked their view.
But the people on the mountain saw certain death.
A Better View
The video from the mountain reveals the tsunami has destroyed the entire town. The incoming waves, filled with dangerous debris, are right on the mansion’s doorstep. Everyone above could see the situation clearly. But the Japanese in the courtyard trusted in their own past experience. The last few seconds of the video shows waves of water start to flood the courtyard. Too late, the tiny people see the danger and start to run, as the video ends.
My Spiritual Insight
We need to get good at obeying the Lord. Because Jesus is for us and He always sees the future clearly. So training in prompt obedience is important. Someday our lives may depend on it.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart;
do not depend on your own understanding.
6 Seek his will in all you do,
and he will show you which path to take. (Proverbs 3:5-6 NLT)
Editor’s Note: The before and after aerial image of what a tsunami does to a country’s landscape is actually Thailand in 2004. I downloaded the image from Pixabay.com.
Resources:
Here’s a list of the largest tsunamis in Japan since 1498.
The video below isn’t the one I saw, but at the 1:25 time stamp, it shows much the same situation. Filmed from above, the incoming Tsunami waves have destroyed the rest of the town, but the large building closest to the mountainside hasn’t yet been reached by the incoming water. Then suddenly the waves smash into it.
Japan Earthquake: Helicopter aerial view video of giant tsunami waves
