Discover His heart: He captures our attention with His Almighty power
The other night I heard the loudest and longest rumble of thunder I had ever heard, loud enough to jolt me to my feet out of a sound sleep in the middle of the night. It took quite some time for me to relax back to sleep, but in the process, I remembered a little dog we had at one time who was terrified of thunder. At the first clap, he was under a table, behind a sofa or under my feet, and he shook so badly that he could have been used for a back massage. Poor thing.
Thunder in and of itself doesn’t hurt us, but it definitely gets our attention. It announces the presence of storms that are sometimes powerful enough to change the landscape around us. Thunder is mentioned many times in the Bible, most often in respect to the most powerful entity in the Universe – the power of God.
@ Job 26
After being compared by Bildad to a maggot and worm in his insignificance, Job still had the presence of mind to deliver a beautiful portrayal of the God of creation and the earth’s reaction to His power. “God stretches the northern sky over empty space and hangs the earth on nothing. He wraps the rain in his thick clouds, and the clouds don’t burst with the weight. He covers the face of the moon, shrouding it with his clouds. He created the horizon when he separated the waters; he set the boundary between day and night. The foundations of heaven tremble; they shudder at his rebuke.” (7-11)
The eternal – always was and forever will be – God accomplished all of this in just a blink of His time, “These are just the beginning of all that He does, merely a whisper of His power. Who, then, can comprehend the thunder of His power?” (14) Earth, sky, moon, oceans, day and night, animal, mankind – merely a whisper of His power. Job was asking, “Who could even imagine His thunder?” There isn’t a place hidden enough, deep enough or safe enough to stop our trembling at the thought of the thunder of His power. In light of this, I am sometimes in awe that I would find it necessary to advise the Lord on how He should handle any given situation. I mean, really.
I believe God has manifested to us the thunder of His power on this earth to a measure. And even still, I can’t comprehend it; I can’t grasp the enormity of it. “At noon, darkness fell across the whole land until three o’clock. At about three o’clock, Jesus called out with a loud voice, ‘Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?’ which means ‘My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?’…Then Jesus shouted out again, and He released his spirit. At that moment the curtain in the sanctuary of the Temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. The earth shook, rocks split apart and tombs opened.” (Matthew 27:45-52) The thunder of His Redemption power! I think I hear a rumble…
“Suddenly there was a great earthquake! For an angel of the Lord came down from heaven, rolled aside the stone, and sat on it…‘I know you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead, just as He said would happen.” (Matthew 28:2-6) The thunder of His Resurrection power! His thunderous power has rumbled through the centuries to save our sinful souls and to give us eternal life with Him. And with His thunder, He captured not only our attention, but He captured our souls!
Moving Forward: I can’t understand the power that changed my life and enables me to sit in His Presence, but it is as real as the earth spinning through the Universe and the moon hanging in the sky – so thankful today for the power of the cross.
Tomorrow @ Jeremiah 1-6
Phyllis Benigas 