Hugo was a young man in his early twenties who worked for the Department of Agriculture in Lima, Peru. His job was to travel to other places in his country to estimate how much the crops would produce in the coming year. Many of the people in Peru were poor, and many did not have jobs. Thousands lived in tiny grass huts scattered across the dry mountainsides. They had no running water and no electricity. Since there were so many in need, Hugo was thankful he had such a good job and looked forward to an easier life than many had.
Sadly, Hugo had never really thought about the fact that there was something more important than having a good job and an easy life in this world. He had never thought about the fact that he would someday have to leave this world and stand before God. He had never heard the good news of the love of God. No one had ever told him that Jesus had suffered and died on the cross for sinners. In fact, Hugo seldom thought about God at all. But among all the millions of people in Peru, God in His love was going to speak to Hugo.
One day Hugo went to a certain town to inspect the crops in that area. He stayed in a hotel near the central plaza and he noticed the large statue that was in the middle of the plaza. Hugo was sitting in his hotel room when he heard rumblings that were all too familiar ... an earthquake! Anyone who lived in Peru probably would not have been as surprised or worried as you or I would have been, because small tremors often shake that country. But this time Hugo thought, This is not just a small tremor. This is a real earthquake!
The earth thundered again, even more loudly, and everything began to shake. Hugo was afraid and quickly ran downstairs. The earth shook even more strongly, and he thought it would be best to crawl under the large statue in the plaza for protection. He ran towards the statue ... and then suddenly he stopped, not believing his eyes! The statue was dancing! He stared, afraid and shocked, as the earthquake made the statue turn around and around. In a frantic attempt to find a safe place to hide, Hugo turned to run back to the hotel. He had only taken a few steps when, again, he could hardly believe his eyes. The entire hotel collapsed, and the roof fell all the way to the ground! Hugo stood frozen to the spot as disaster hit almost every building in the town — they were all collapsing as he stood there watching.
Many were killed that day, but Hugo’s life was spared. He realized how close he had come to dying, and a voice seemed to say to him, “This is the hand of God! God is speaking to you!”
Hugo had not read the Bible and so he could not decide just what God wanted him to do. He did not know that the Lord Jesus lovingly says, “Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:2828Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. (Matthew 11:28)). Hugo only knew without a doubt that he had felt the hand of God over his life.
Hugo started to help rescue school children who had been trapped under debris. He wondered if he could find any of his belongings. However, the hotel had been completely destroyed, so that was hopeless. He spent the night in the open countryside in a truck, because the aftershocks continued all during the night. There was much fear still that the few walls and buildings left standing would also collapse.
Hugo wanted to return home to Lima, but the roads had also been destroyed by the earthquake. So he began to walk with others to the nearest open road. They walked for three days through the countryside and had a very hard time finding food to eat. At last they found a road that was open. As Hugo traveled back home, he thought again, “God is speaking to me.”
Not long after this, Hugo was invited to a place where the Word of God, the Bible, was talked about. He listened, and the preacher told about God’s wonderful love in sending His only Son, the Lord Jesus, to die for sinners. He heard that his sins had taken him far away from God, but that the Lord Jesus had shed His precious blood to take those sins away. He heard the simple message that “whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Romans 10:1313For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. (Romans 10:13)).
After the gospel meeting one of the Christians said to Hugo, “God is speaking to you!”
“Yes!” agreed Hugo. But he must have wondered how this man could have known that God was speaking to him. Hugo had not understood the whole message, but that very night he knelt down and simply called on the Lord Jesus to save him. His sins were washed away in the precious blood of Christ and then he understood what God had been saying to him. He began to read his Bible, and he learned more about the wonderful salvation that God had given him. Soon, he started to tell others about his wonderful Savior.
God had spoken very loudly to Hugo through the earthquake, but He has also spoken to you. Perhaps it has been through your parents or through your Sunday school teacher or even through an illness. Maybe He is speaking to you right now, through this paper. God wants you to listen and be saved from your sins, because He loves you. But He also warns you that those who refuse the Lord Jesus and His love will be in hell forever, because “he that [believes] on the Son [has] everlasting life: and he that [believes] not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him” (John 3:3636He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him. (John 3:36)).
The Bible tells us that God speaks once, and even twice, yet people don’t even notice (see Job 33:1414For God speaketh once, yea twice, yet man perceiveth it not. (Job 33:14)). It takes an earthquake to make some people listen. Have you listened to God speaking to you?
Messages of God’s Love 10/15/2023