Neal Pollard
The unusually high tornadic activity this Spring effected the midwest this time, especially the small southwest Missouri city of Joplin. The Monday afternoon tally of 116 fatalities will almost certainly rise. The American Cross reports that “75% of the town is virtually gone” (Accuweather.com). This tornado was powerful enough that X-rays from a Joplin hospital turned up 70 miles away in someone’s driveway (ibid.)! The Joplin Globe reported that “teams with body bags were being dispatched to Home Depot, Wal-Mart, Academy Sports & Outdoors, Sonic and other businesses between 15th and 20th streets along Range Line Road, one of the hardest hit areas in the city” (via Tribune-Democrat online). Among the other stores devastated by the tornado was a Fastrip Convenience Store on 32nd Street. According to a YouTube video, about 20 people were in the store about the time the storm hit the area. They retreated into a storage freezer as the tornado passed through the front of the store. Many of you have “heard” the video (there is no perceptible visual) and it is chilling to eavesdrop on people who are thinking they may be about to die. What do they say? I have only seen the edited version on CNN, but various news outlets carry the warning that there is profanity to be heard in some portions of the clip. However, for a solid two minutes or more there is a cry being made to “Jesus” and the “Heavenly Father.” At the moment of impact, there are no curse words but rather only pleas, screams, and appeals to God.
One thinks of the psalmist’s plaintive words in Psalm 130:1, where he says, “Out of the depths I have cried to You, O Lord.” Most credit the saying, “There are no atheists in foxholes,” to colorful journalist Ernie Pyle who covered both World Wars in the 20th Century. Atheists, particularly, mock that quote, even saying, “You’ll never find a dead Christian in a foxhole who didn’t pray.” Such is an attempt to discredit the idea of God’s existence, pointing to the problem of human suffering. Yet, it is easier to be smug when not in the throes of terror and fear as life hangs in the balance. Situations like these are a litmus test and often awaken a feeling, even among the hardened, that there One greater than ourselves upon whom we must rely. Truly, though, as David wrote, “The fool has said in his heart, ‘there is no God…'” (Ps. 14:1a).
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Thank you Neal. Excellent thoughts.