Escaping the Cataclysm

by Keith Robinson

  Lisa stared at the bars on the small window of the door numbly, her mind and body completely paralyzed. Minutes passed before she was able to shake off the shock of the recent events. Movement to her right caught her attention as Akwen, exhausted from fear and mental anguish, turned to put her back against the stone wall, and then sunk lethargically to the ground. Drawing her knees up to her chest, the dark-skinned woman began to weep softly.

  Coming to her senses, Lisa stepped over to where Dr. Eisenberg lay on the floor. Bending down, she checked his physical condition with concern. Relief flooded over her as she felt his strong pulse beating in his neck. Lifting his shirt, she examined the bandage that covered his wound. Seeing nothing more than a small spot of blood, she lowered his shirt and leaned back against the wall next to Akwen. Mimicking the other woman’s posture, Lisa pulled her knees up toward her chest, her own eyes moist.

  Oh God, she prayed, I don’t know much about how to pray, but we need Your help! If You can hear me, please do something! Help Doc to wake up, and wherever Jeffrey and the others are, protect them. Although I believe that I’d go to heaven if I die here, I want to live! But…if we don’t make it out of this alive, then…please take care of my girls.

  Intense sorrow began welling up with her at the thought of her daughters, Jenny and Amanda. I don’t understand You, she prayed in frustration. I thought You loved Your children. If so, then why did You allow this to happen to us? Aren’t You a good God? If You are, then why would You take Brad, and now me, away from my girls? Do You want them to be orphans? I believe that You exist and that You died for me, but I just don’t understand.

  A soft moan escaped from Akwen’s lips, causing Lisa to look over at her. Although Lisa and Akwen had never really liked each other very much, the stark expression of grief and pain that she now saw on the Cameroonian woman’s face filled her with compassion. Reaching out toward her, Lisa placed her arm around Akwen’s shoulder. The two of them sat leaning against each other for an indeterminate amount of time, tears streaking down their dirt-stained cheeks.

  Dr. Eisenberg suddenly groaned and rolled onto his side, snapping Lisa back to reality. Taking her arm from around Akwen’s shoulder, she crossed back over to the doctor and placed a hand on his arm. “Doc? Are you alright? Can you hear me?”

  He groaned once more and brought his hand up to rest on his head. “Yes,” he mumbled. “I hear you, but my head is pounding terribly.”

  “I’m sorry,” Lisa apologized, “but I didn’t have anything to give you for a pillow.”

  “I don’t believe that’s the cause of my migraine,” he chuckled lightly. “Perhaps it has more to do with the enormous lump on the back of my head where that big oaf hit me. What do you think?”

  Lisa tried to smile at the comment, but found that her fear and sorrow were warring against her will. “Oh Doc,” she began, her emotions threatening to overwhelm her once again. “What are we going to do?”

  Gingerly moving into a sitting position, Dr. Eisenberg looked at her, his face reflecting a calm that helped to ease her anxiety. “First of all, where are we?”

  “In the dungeon of some big pyramid-like building on the northeastern side of the city,” she replied, her voice desolate.

  “Then we must do the only thing we can do: pray.”

  “But…but, how do we know God will hear us?” she asked. “It’s just…why is God allowing this to happen to us? Is it because He can’t stop it from happening? Why doesn’t He just work a miracle and get us out of here?”

  “It isn’t because He can’t stop evil,” Akwen said, her voice echoing hollowly off the cold, stone walls. “It’s because He won’t.”

  “What?” Lisa asked, a chill running down her spine at Akwen’s frightening words. “What do you mean?”

  Her eyes stared straight ahead, her gaze vacant. “I don’t tink God really cares much about us at all. More den likely, He created us, den left us to fend for ourselves in a brutal world. He is not a God of love, but rather, a vicious, murderous fiend who kills innocent and guilty equally.”

  Dr. Eisenberg frowned. Even in the dim light, the pain on the woman’s face was easy to read. “No, Akwen. That’s not true. God saved Noah and his family because they were righteous. It is the wicked that are judged.”

  “And what about da children?” Akwen challenged, her eyes turning to stare at him. “Be tankful dat you were unconscious when we were brought here. You didn’t have to see what dese people do to deir children. You didn’t have to see how dose animal-like men took dat girl, right in da middle of da city wit others watching and…and…” Her voice became choked, preventing her from finishing her sentence.

  After a moment, she recovered and continued. “Where was your God den? What did dat poor girl ever do to deserve dat kind of suffering?”

  Lisa felt the words sink into her heart, poisoning her newborn faith like a cancer. Although also disturbed by her words, Dr. Eisenberg listened intently and his mind worked to figure out a way to answer her questions. “You can’t lay every evil that man commits at the feet of God,” he said, wondering if there was more to her animosity than just their current predicament.

  “And why not?!” she shot back, her voice rising angrily. “If He’s all-powerful and all-loving, den He should step in and save da innocent.” As she spoke, tears began to stream down her face once again and her voice rose even higher in pitch. “I watched helplessly as God stood by and let my grandmoder waste away, each day so full of pain dat all she wanted to do was die! He could have healed her, but He chose not to. I prayed day and night for weeks. I asked God for help, but He didn’t spare her, or my BABY!”

  Akwen’s face made a frightening transformation. Gone was the anguish and despair. In its place was pure, unadulterated rage. Looking up at the roof of the cell, she began screaming at the top of her lungs, shocking both Lisa and Dr. Eisenberg with the force of her anger.

  “What had she ever done to You to deserve to suffer like dat? She was only tirteen! She hadn’t even begun to live, but You let dem kill her! I hate You! Do you hear me? I hate You!” Her fury spent, she doubled over and began to sob profusely until she collapsed on the floor.

  Moved by her anguish, Lisa crossed over to her and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. However, the moment her hand brushed against Akwen’s clothing, the distraught woman lashed out at Lisa vehemently. “Don’t touch me. It was your kind dat did it to her. You American princesses, always seeking your own selfish pleasures and not caring about what happens to oders.”

  Lisa stepped back, suddenly afraid that Akwen might jump up off the floor and attack her. Instead, she just put her head between her knees and began rocking back and forth, her sorrow consuming her.

  Dr. Eisenberg laid a gentle hand on Lisa’s arm. “Let her be for now. Give her some time.” Still rattled by Akwen’s violent outbursts, Lisa simply nodded and moved over to sit on the other side of the small cell. For nearly ten minutes, the only sound that could be heard was the soft moaning sounds that emanated from Akwen. At last, even those faded away, replaced by a heavy stillness. Then, to her companion’s surprise, Akwen spoke softly, her voice hoarse and low.

  “My Ariel had begged and begged to go to da party with her friend from school. She had been working so hard on bringing up her grades, cleaning up da house for me, and taking care of her younger broder. Since school was almost over for da summer, I decided to let her go. I learned later dat shortly after she had arrived, da girls decided to switch parties. Dose bratty, older American girls pressured Ariel to go with dem until she gave in. She always tried to overcome her African heritage. She just wanted to fit in.

  “When dey got to da oder party, da girls began to drink,” she continued, her voice devoid of emotion. “Shortly after, I guess dey began to make fun of Ariel’s hair, her accent, and her innocence. Devastated, she ran out of da party and began walking home alone.” Akwen paused, her voice choked. “Da…da police…didn’t find her body for almost a week. De
y were finally able to track down da men dat had…taken her.”

  Lost in memory, Akwen’s lip curled in remembered disgust. “At da trial, da men cried and said dey were sorry, as if dat would bring back my baby. Dey claimed dey were just having a little fun and got carried away. And dose princesses…I overheard one say dat Ariel couldn’t take a joke and she shouldn’t have gotten so upset. Dey dared to blame it on my little girl.”

  Sliding over to sit next to her, Dr. Eisenberg bowed his head and prayed for wisdom. At last, he spoke, his voice trembling with emotion. “Akwen, I know that nothing I can say will ever take away the ache and pain of your loss. But you must not blame God for the careless and wicked actions of men and women.”

  Akwen looked up at him and searched his eyes. “Why not? Why didn’t He rescue her?” she asked sincerely.

  The doctor shook his head. “We can never know for sure. But when we don’t understand something, we should always fall back on those things we do know to be true. God is love, and like any good father, His deepest desire is that His children love Him as much as He loves them. However, love is a tricky thing. It cannot be forced.

  “When God created Adam and Eve, He gave them the choice to disobey Him,” Dr. Eisenberg said softly. “If He didn’t, then they would have been no better than those dolls that are programmed to say ‘I love you’ when squeezed. Human free will is a two-edged sword: the greater the capacity for love, the greater the capacity to cause pain. God gives us the choice, but unfortunately, many choose to reject His love, and as a result, do terrible things to themselves and others.”

  “Human free will still doesn’t explain why God doesn’t intervene more often and protect da innocent,” Akwen said dryly.

  “Think about it, though. If God stepped in every time someone was about to do something bad, He would be infringing upon their right to choose. In addition, where do you draw the line? Obviously, rape and murder are evil. But what about cheating, or lying, or stealing? Should He stop those actions also? Where do you draw the line? You see, in God’s eyes, we are all sinners deserving of the death penalty. There are no ‘innocents.’”

  Akwen was silent a moment before responding. “But where is da justice? Dose men were back on da streets after serving only a fraction of deir sentence.”

  “I know it often seems that evil men succeed and prevail while the righteous suffer,” he replied gently. “But you must also remember that this world is not all there is. Justice will be served, just maybe not on earth.”

  “But, what about my grandmoder?” Akwen asked bitterly. “You say dat evil is caused by men making bad choices, but den whose choice was it dat caused my grandmoder to suffer and waste away wit cancer?”

  Dr. Eisenberg allowed silence to settle in the cell as he considered her question carefully. “Akwen, once again let me say that I in no way want to minimize your loss. I know the pain and frustration that you feel. But I urge you to consider what I say and make your peace with God before it’s too late.”

  “I’m listening,” she mumbled, even though she had turned her head to stare at the wall.

  “To answer your question, I would say that there are two types of ‘evil’: that which happens in nature, and that which is a result of choice. And it doesn’t even have to be the choices of men. As we have seen, there are evil beings out there who are trying to destroy us. Often, I believe we suffer because of the attacks of demons, even though we don’t realize it. As for your family, your daughter suffered because of the evil choices of others, and your grandmother suffered because of the evil that was brought into the world by man’s choice to disobey. Both man and nature must suffer until God, in His allotted time, brings the evil to its end.”

  He paused and studied Akwen to see how she was reacting to his words. Noting her attentive posture, he continued. “The Torah says that God called everything ‘very good’ when He first created the earth. There was no sin or death. There was no cancer. But, it also says that after Adam and Eve sinned, the whole world became cursed. The human race still bears the results of the curse in our bodies. That’s another reason why good things and bad things happen to ‘good’ people and ‘bad’ people.

  “There’s also an element of free will involved in our sicknesses. How many of our physical problems could be avoided if we ate healthier foods, exercised, and slept more hours?” he asked rhetorically. “In our time, so many of the foods we eat are processed and filled with toxins that slowly destroy our bodies. We don’t even know it, but we may be giving ourselves incurable diseases just by the types of food we put on our plates, and in how we store and cook them.”

  When Akwen looked at him, the doctor could see that although she wasn’t convinced by his words, she was at least considering them. Oh Lord, give me the words that will break through her despair, he prayed silently.

  “Let me put it another way,” Dr. Eisenberg said. “I once knew a man who used to love to refurbish cars. He would spend hours and hours fixing them, painting them, and waxing them. He was so proud of his own car that he told all of his friends about it and invited them to come over and look at it.”

  Akwen gave a cynical laugh. “Doc, why are you wasting your time telling me a story? We’re all going to die in a matter of hours anyway.”

  “That’s the very reason why I’m telling you all of this!” he exclaimed. “If we die today, you will stand before God. I don’t want anything to keep you from accepting His love before it’s too late.”

  “I appreciate your concern, but it’s going to take a lot of convincing to get me to change my mind after all I’ve been trough,” she said.

  “At least let me try to answer your objections,” he pleaded. “Let me finish the story.”

  She nodded unenthusiastically. “Well, we’ve got nuhting better to do.”

  Praying once again that God would open her eyes, Dr. Eisenberg continued. “Before the man’s friends arrived to view his beautiful car, he let his son take it for a spin. But unfortunately, the son was reckless. When he brought the car back, it was scratched, dirty, dented, and generally busted up. Then, when the friends arrived, they looked at the car and said, ‘What a piece of junk! You spent all of your time and money on that thing? What a waste!’”

  Akwen studied him for a moment. “So, what are you getting at?”

  “Whose fault was it that the car was damaged?” he asked.

  “It was da son’s fault.”

  The doctor smiled. “Don’t you see? It’s the same with us and God. We often blame Him for the poor condition of the world and for all of the evil, but He didn’t make it this way! He made it perfect, and we messed it up. It’s because of man’s sin that there are tornados, hurricanes, and—”

  A sudden shudder ran through the stone cell, causing small streams of dust to rain down upon them and forcing Dr. Eisenberg to stop mid-sentence. The three prisoners froze, fearing that the entire structure above them would come crashing down. After nearly a full minute of silence, they let out their breaths and relaxed.

  “…and earthquakes,” Lisa finished, her voice tinged with apprehension. “They’re getting stronger, aren’t they?”

  “Yes, they are,” Dr. Eisenberg said in resignation.

  “What does it all matter anymore?” Akwen said dully. “We’re going to die soon and, since God won’t help us, my children will be left witout a moder, and my husband witout a wife.”

  “I wouldn’t give up hope just yet. God has a way of coming through when we least expect it. I sometimes think He likes a good story as much as the rest of us,” he said wryly. Growing more serious, he continued. “But even if He doesn’t choose to rescue us, it doesn’t mean He doesn’t love us, or our families. Often, it is only through suffering that our true character can shine.”

  Akwen’s eye’s narrowed. “What do you mean?”

  “I don’t remember the exact wording, but there is a verse in the New Testament that says that God works out things for good for those who love Him.1 The Scri
ptures are replete with stories of men and women who suffered, yet God brought good out of a bad situation. God cares more about our character than our comfort.”

  Pausing, he glanced over at Lisa and saw that she was also being impacted by his words. “Take the story of Joseph, for example. He was sold into slavery by his own brothers, yet God used that horrible evil to eventually save millions of people, including the very brothers that committed the evil act.

  “Look at our own situation,” Dr. Eisenberg said, holding out his arms in an encompassing gesture. “Many bad things have happened to us on this journey. But if it hadn’t been for those things, I may have never understood the truth about Jesus. Because we’re facing death, we are forced to come to grips with our own mortality and realize that we can’t do things on our own. We must never doubt in the darkness that God has revealed to us in the light.”

  Placing a comforting hand on Akwen’s shoulder, he continued. “A famous Christian writer named C. S. Lewis once said, ‘God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks to us in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: It is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world.’ So maybe, just maybe, one of the reasons that God sent us on this trip was to force us to realize that the Bible is true and that Jesus really is the Messiah. Isn’t our eternal salvation more important than our physical comfort?”

  Akwen looked over at him, tears filling her eyes once more. “But den, what good came out of da loss of my daughter and grandmoder?”

  Dr. Eisenberg shook his head sadly. “I don’t know. I wish I could give you some simple answer, but frankly, there are some things we may never know this side of heaven. However, that doesn’t mean that there isn’t a good answer. I am convinced God loves you and has your best interests in mind. He also sees the big picture; He knows the future. He wants you to love Him and trust Him, even when you don’t understand. You may not know why God allows suffering in your life now, but perhaps in five or ten years, you will look back and see God’s hand.”