THE FOLLOWING is probably THE BEST essay/piece I've read about the Tsunami vis a vis God vs satan having to do with the event.
Regarding The Dec 26 Tsunami
Teresa Seputis
It was only 5 PM on Christmas Day where I live. It was 6:30 in the morning the day after Christmas for the people in India. It was 7 or 8 in that same morning for most of the rest of the places that were effected by the Tsunami that devastated southern Asia. It took about 12 hours for the news of this terrible disaster to travel throughout the world. Over 22,000 people are reported dead and the death toll is expected to climb even higher than that.
And people are asking "Why did this happen?" Christians around the world cannot help but notice how near this disaster was to Christmas Day and that the people effected by this were mostly idol worshippers. And some have wondered if this was some type of judgment of God against idolatry. In fact, that question ran briefly through my own mind as I got past the initial shock of the terrible news. I found myself asking God -- "was this a judgment or was it an attack of the enemy or what?"
It took about an hour before I was able to hear God's answer to my question. I think the delay was because this sad news hit me very hard, as I have close ties to the area. I have flown in/out of Chennai (a.k.a. Madras) many times. The state of Tamilnadu, where Madras is located, was one of the areas hardest hit in India.
And I have ministered many times in the State of Andhra Predesh, and over 200 people are reported to have died from the Tsunami in that state. In fact, I had a guest from Andhra Predesh in my home at the exact instant the tsunami hit, and his wife was in India visiting her family 15 miles from the coast. (We did not know about the Tsunami until after he had gone home that night.)
This is what God told me: This was NOT a judgment from God, it was an attack of the enemy. The attack mirrors in the natural what God is about to do in the spirit, and it precedes an upcoming move of God in those areas. God has been hard a work behind the scenes to prepare South Asia for revival. It is almost ripe and God is going to release a wave of great revival there, a revival that will draw people to the truth and sweep away the stronghold of idolatry and ancestor worship.
The devil is one who comes to comes to kill, steal and destroy. And he has brought this tsunami to kill as many people as he can before the revival hits. He is doing this because he does not want them to be saved in the revival. It is not God's heart or desire to destroy the people who live in great darkness in this part of the world -- it is His desire to shine His light into their darkness and to save them.
The Lord showed me a princple that relates to enemy activity in the area. The principle is that the enemy's "thing" is to kill and destroy, and the more of a hold he has on an area, the more of an ability he has to do his thing in that area. For instance, in India, the state of Tamilnadu was the one that was hardest hit by the Tsunami, and where most of the death and destruction occurred.
This same state is one that had given the devil a stronghold by passing a very strong anti-conversion law that could imprison anyone who leads a person to the Lord. And because the devil had a stronghold on this area, he was able to bring more death/destruction to it than to other parts of India. (I am not saying that Tamilnadu is the only demonic stronghold in India. But the devil was able to destroy much there because it was one of his strongholds.) The good news is that Tamilnadu is almost ripe for revival and that area will be filled with God's light and presence."
We must remember that God's heart is for the lost and He wants to bring them to Himself. The devil's heart is to kill, steal and destroy and to oppress and keep people in darkness. God's goal and the devil's goal are diametrically opposed to one another. That is why there is a war going on between the two sides. God has already won the war when Jesus rose from the dead, breaking the power of sin and death. But God values human free-will; He wants people to worship Him of their own free choice. And in order to preserve our ability to choose (free will) God has not yet banished the devil to Hell. The devil knows he is defeated, and like a trapped animal he still lashes out against God's kingdom and engages in warfare.
The Tsunami was a great and heart-breaking tragedy. We need to ask ourselves how God wants us to respond to this. I would like to share three insights to that question.
First, He wants us to love them with the love of Christ. That love does not sit idly by and hope the people will get the help they need -- instead that love helps those who become destitute from this Tsunami -- it gives both financial and practical aid. We are not to limit our help to just those who are willing to convert. We are to follow God's example: God sends His rain on both the just and the unjust, so we should help all who are effected, not just those who agree with our viewpoint.
Second, we need to pray for God's will to be done in this area. God's will is to bring a wave of His revival -- to break the power of darkness, to bring light and life and joy and peace and provision to these people. It is to bring them to the saving knowledge of Jesus so that they put away their idols and worship only Him. So we need to pray and intercede in agreement with God's will for a great revival to come to South Asia.
Third, we must participate with God in accomplishing His will in that area. This means doing missions work in South Asia. It also means supporting and equipping the indigenious believers as they evangelize their nations.
Great darkness has come to this area in the form of this terrible tradegy. Now it is time for the body of Christ to bring great light to dispell that darkness. It is time for us to bring practical and tangible help, as well as to bring God's love and the good news of the gospel to this region. It is also time to demonstrate the reality and power of God's love by healing the sick and doing the works that Jesus did.
Blessings
Teresa
Teresa Seputis
TS@GodSpeak.org URL:
http://www.godspeak.org GodSpeak International; PO Box 4000; Hayward CA 94540-4000; USA GodSpeak International; PO Box 200; Bristol BS32 8YG; United Kingdom
From:
http://www.etpv.org/whatsnew.html