We have launched humans into space and safely landed rovers on Mars. We fly from one side of the earth to the other in hours, and we communicate nearly instantaneously by video between points anywhere in the world. Technology advances daily, and now we drive battery-powered vehicles hundreds of miles on a single charge. Is there any end to what mankind can achieve and invent (Genesis 11:6)? Yet, each brilliant advance seems to create another disappointing setback.

In late June, the leaders of Saudi Arabia and Egypt met and signed a series of agreements worth over $7.7 billion (Reuters, June 21, 2022). The 14 different agreements involved a wide range of economic sectors, including food and agriculture, power and energy, oil, and pharmaceuticals. The agreements are far-reaching and will tie the two nations together in multiple areas of their economies.

Extreme drought in Chile over the last 14 years has resulted in half the nation of 19 million people being in a state of “extreme water scarcity” (The Guardian, June 1, 2022). Hundreds of communities now rely on emergency tankers to bring in water from other locations. A Chilean hydrologist recently identified water shortages as a national security risk: “It’s the biggest problem facing the country economically, socially and environmentally.

Officials in Australia issued evacuation orders for 50,000 residents of Sydney this week in response to severe flooding (BBC, July 5, 2022). Parts of Australia’s largest city received eight months’ worth of rain—nearly a meter—in four days! People in 50 other areas around the city have been warned to prepare for evacuation.