June 27th, 2022

Obedience Like Lightning

Job 37:14-16 NIV

"Listen to this, Job; stop and consider God's wonders. Do you know how God controls the clouds and makes his lightning flash? Do you know how the clouds hang poised, those wonders of him who has perfect knowledge?"

      Gods always got a way of leading me to a thought each day, even if I wake up and have not a clue where to start. And it always seems to have some concept that I can relate to my own life. Nature fascinates me. It always has. And even more so as I've gotten older. I thrive when I am enjoying the beauty that is God's creation. From the oceans to the mountains, to watching the birds play at the feeder off of my back porch; I love it all. Today's world can be an exhausting place to live in. With war, conflict, and trial lurking around every corner, it's easy to get overwhelmed with the negativity that can be brought upon us. While the things we're faced with may be inevitable, we don't have to dwell on them. Why? Because God is in control.

      If you don't believe me, take the lightning for example-just as we see in this scripture. When I was a young girl, I loved to watch heat lightning dance around in the sky. I could tell when the lightning was about to strike because I could just feel it in the air. The warm summer winds would blow and whirl and the sky would grow dark and dim. Then, in the distance, I could see the orange and yellow strikes crack as if they were perfectly timed dancers in a musical, moving on cue. Now, science can tell you all you want to know about the how and the why of heat lightning, but I'm here to tell you that our human knowledge will never be able to fathom why nature behaves the way that it does. Nature-which is at the total mercy of God- functions at His command for reasons only He knows. In life, we may never have the answers to why things happen the ways that they do, but just as God commands the lightning to strike, the rivers to flow, and the flowers to grow, we can find peace that there is a greater power guiding and directing our every move too. All we must do is remain obedient when he calls and trust that He is doing a beautiful work in our lives; just as He does in nature.

If you haven't for a little while, I want to encourage you to take a moment and find some time to be in God's creation this week. Take in the scene of nature moving and living at the mercy of God. See how things grow in the most perfectly imperfect way and think about where you stand in God's beautiful masterpiece.