God Thunders Marvelously

Job 37:5
King James Version
⁵ God thundereth marvelously with his voice; great things doeth he, which we cannot comprehend.

 

God communicates with us in many ways. Sometimes He roars in such a way that everybody knows He is communicating with us. This happened with the Israelites at the base of Mount Horeb when God spoke the Ten Commandments out of fire and thick clouds of smoke. This happened when Christ was on the cross and darkness enveloped everything as the curtain between the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place ripped apart from top to bottom.

When God spoke to Elijah after the marvelous appearance on Mount Carmel, some powerful events occurred in nature. But Elijah recognized that these were not God’s communications—they were simply sent to see if he was awake:

1 Kings 19:11-13 And he said, “Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the Lord.” And, behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the Lord was not in the earthquake: and after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice. And it was so, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle, and went out, and stood in the entering in of the cave. And, behold, there came a voice unto him, and said, “What doest thou here, Elijah?”

God was in the still small voice. God spoke to Abraham, maybe 4 or 5 times; sometimes only in a dream. When God speaks to us, it is usually in a still small voice—a voice that we can choose to ignore because it is so small—maybe to our eternal peril.

There’s an old story, probably apocryphal, that I’m sure you’ve heard. Everything had gone wrong for a man. Finally, he said to himself, “Let me see what God wants me to do.” He opened the Bible at random, put his finger on a text and it read that Judas “went and hanged himself.” (Matthew 27:5). “No,” he said to himself “God can’t be talking to me there.” He closed his Bible and opened it randomly again and read, “Go and do thou likewise.” (Luke 10:37). So, he committed suicide.

Consequently, how does one know whether this still small voice is indeed God’s voice? Or is it rather a suggestion from our own inner desires? Or, much worse still, is it the devil making a suggestion?

Isaiah counseled “To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.” (Isaiah 8:20) If it is against the direct commands in the Bible—it isn’t God speaking. That brings up the question:  How do we know whether it is against the direct biblical counsel?

We need to read the Bible daily to keep reminding ourselves what the Bible does teach!

Please, Lord, keep speaking to us, and help us recognize Your voice and do what You are asking us to do.

 

 

 

 

 

Thunderstorm in Tornado Alley

 [1]

Job 37:6

Common English Bible

⁶ He says to the snow, “Fall to earth,”
    and to the downpour of rain, “Be a mighty shower.”

 

We often drive across the U.S. along small highways rather than on the Interstates. We can experience much more of the charm of the country that way. At night we often pull up in a Walmart parking lot or a park with a restroom and climb into the back, under the cap that houses our bed, and sleep till morning. Traveling west across eastern Nebraska one evening, we could see massive thunderstorms in various directions. We checked our smart phone and saw that if we carried on into the night, we couldn’t miss a storm. Of course, if we travel at night, we also miss the charm. So, we pulled into a handy Walmart parking lot, watched a beautiful sunset, and climbed into bed.

Shortly after dark it started raining. Lightning and thunder struck all around us. The rain became a mighty shower. The wind shook our Ford F-150 as if it were a toy. Peeking out of the window, I saw that the whole parking lot was under six inches of water as the rain came in sheets almost horizontally across us in the furious wind. I prayed for the all-powerful hand of God to shield us.

This part of the country is often referred to as Tornado Alley. I had visions of a tornado snatching us up and hurling us into the air and then smashing us back onto the earth when it was done. The cap over our heads is only held onto the back of the pickup by four three-sixteenth inch bolts. Although it is normally water tight, a spray was being forced in around the edges. Every few seconds the lightning illuminated the ankle-deep water all around us. Almost instantaneously a might clap of thunder would threaten to split our ear drums.

As suddenly as it hit us, the storm blew away. Through it all Sylvia slept like a baby. She missed the whole mighty display. When she woke up in the morning, she wondered why our blankets were soaked all around the edges. We got up and arranged our wet things so that they would dry, we hoped, as we continued on the highway.

For breakfast we stopped in a little café. The people all around us were talking about the tornado that had ripped through and totally destroyed a little town just 8 miles to our west. Now was our time to praise the Lord for keeping us safe.

Thank You, Lord, that we can rest in the knowledge that You always watch over us.

 

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[1] Our Ford F-150—This picture was not taken in Nebraska!