Cross thoughts: Christian ideas seen in Sudanese every day life.
Engineers use their skills and their knowledge to do many clever and useful things.
The pictures* are of the Merowe dam, about 220 miles north of Khartoum on the Nile, close to 4th cataract. The river divides into small branches with islands in between, now linked by walls.
The dam is 5.6 miles in length,
220 feet high, collecting a
3 cubic miles reservoir, taking
about 20% of Nile’s flow, and will
eventually hold back an upstream lake of 108 miles.
It powers 10x125 MV turbines supplying Atbara, Khartoum, Omdurman, Port Sudan, Dabba and Dongola.
(Information source: Wikipedia. Photos come from the Merowe dam website.).
It is amazing to think that water can be engineered in such a way. It helps to produce electricity for so many people, businesses and projects.
Of course the Nile with its Blue and White tributaries, are also used for irrigation to produce fruitful farmland. Hundreds of people make their living from it by offering boat transport to people and to cargo, and by fishing. Engineers and entrepreneurs make such good use of this God-given resource every day.
The same God who created the waters of the Nile also made you and me. He is the Master engineer and the Supreme designer, Genesis 2:6, 10-14. He wastes nothing, making proper use of all His immense resources. Since He designed us to fulfil the plans He had in mind for our lives, we can trust Him to use everything He involves us in. He works it together for our good, and makes us more like God the Son, Jesus Christ, into the bargain, Romans 8:28-30.
“God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong”, 1 Corinthians 1:27.
He said: “My power is made perfect in weakness”, 2 Corinthians 12:9.
One of God’s greatest servants, Paul, learned how to “delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties” because he realised
“When I am weak, then I am strong” in my Lord Jesus Christ”, 2 Corinthians 12:10.
Seeing what great things human engineers can do, stop and think for a moment –
how much more can our great God and Father do?
He is more than able, whatever needs to be done.
July 2014.
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