During the last twenty-four hours or so, the country has been buffeted by exceptionally high winds and intense storms. Yesterday was pretty much a great day but then, here in central Indiana, in the middle of the night, I was awakened by brilliant flashes of lightning and rain pounding against our bedroom windows. It was pretty awesome – and there was no way that I was going to sleep through the commotion.
I don’t know why, but I have always been fascinated by storms. I don’t mean to say that I was ever afraid of them – rather the opposite. I really like storms. Of course, I don’t like the destruction that comes with hurricanes, tornadoes or typhoons. And we all know that thousands of people have lost their lives in the Philippines with the severe weather that has hit that area of the world. In this country, we have had more destruction in New Orleans and other cities, most notably along Florida and the east coast, from hurricanes during the last decade or so that for many years prior. And our prayers should be with the victims and their families who have endured such hardship with these recent storms. So I don’t want to leave anyone with the impression that these kinds of storms are things we should look forward to. Thankfully, most of them fall short of causing massive devastation.
But back to last night. The sky was alive with lightning strikes and the rain was pouring down. There was something oddly comforting about the whole scenario. I had been asleep and throughout the middle of the night, I kept hearing the rolling of thunder. I was taken back to when I was a very young child and my mother told me that thunder just sounded like people in heaven bowling. As I look back on it, it sounds kind of funny, but last night, half awake and half asleep, it’s all I could think of – Mom and her people in heaven bowling. If you have ever stopped to listen, she was right. That’s exactly what last night sounded like – bowling…
This morning was calm but the next wave of storms quickly rolled into the area. We had 60-70 mph winds and as I was watching the Bears game in Chicago, I noticed that the game was stopped and the stadium was cleared due to lightning strikes around Soldier Field. I have to say, the sky looked awesome. Come to think of it, there is another place that the storms take on a bigger than life persona. Oklahoma – where our daughter Jill lives. The land is flat and you can see storms coming from far out in the distance. It is quite something to stand on her porch and watch the weather come in from the distance.
When you stop and think about it, no two storms are the same. The one this afternoon even ended with a beautiful rainbow across the eastern sky. And tonight, as I look out of the window, all is calm and a full moon is rising in the east. How awesome is it that God puts on this kind of show as we once again have an illustration of His awesome power and majesty.
The verse for this evening is an obscure verse from the book of Zechariah. We are told, in Zech. 9:14-15, in response to the rising of the sons of Zion agains the Greeks, “Then the LORD will appear over them; his arrow will flash like lightning. The Sovereign LORD will sound the trumpet; he will march in the storms of the south, and the LORD Almighty will shield them.” Yes – God used storms to shield His people. My encouragement this evening is that you realize that God protects His own. And my prayer is that you will appreciate the power and majesty of the creator of everything – including the weather! have a great day in the Lord, grace and peace…