He Scatters Lightning
How great is
God—beyond our understanding! The number of his years is past finding out.
"He draws up the
drops of water, which distill as rain to the streams; the clouds pour down
their moisture and abundant showers fall on mankind.
Who can understand
how he spreads out the clouds, how he thunders from his pavilion?
See how he
scatters his lightning about him, bathing the depths of the sea.
This is the way
he governs the nations and provides food in abundance.
He fills his
hands with lightning and commands it to strike its mark.
His thunder
announces the coming storm; even the cattle make known its approach.
Job 36:26-33
Look
at nature. Hold it in awe.
We
know we will be tested, only because our Lord loves us so much.
Look
at nature around us. Trees, grass, flowers, birds, millions
of different types of animals, all intricate and delicate, and all coming from
the heart of God.
According
to the Bible, the variety of the natural world is designed to do far more than
inspire childlike wonder. The mysteries of nature can help us come to terms
with a God who allows inexpressible, unexplainable pain and suffering.
We
see this in the epic story of Job. While he was suffering, Job did not know
that God had such a high regard for him that he allowed Satan to test his faith
with a series of losses.
What
emerges is this eventual, unavoidable conclusion: A Creator who has the wisdom
and power to design the wonders of nature is great enough to be trusted with
pain and suffering that are beyond our ability to
understand. In awe, Job spoke of knowing absolutely that God could do anything,
and that he, Job, could do nothing.
It is good to worship God in nature if it leads us to
worship the God of nature.
Our Daily Bread –