God's Eternal Power and Divine Nature
The scent of ozone in the air became intense, mixing with pine and damp earth as the storm advanced. Then the lightning began. At first it was a faraway flash and a faint crack of thunder. We sat and watched as the most magnificent display of God’s power unfolded before us. The Master Artist was at work, using the sky for His canvas.
The rock formations surrounding us provided shelter from the wind, but we could see the storm in the distance, approaching our location.
Backpacking for several days, tired, a bit soggy, and hungry, we had chosen this location for our “rest day.” We didn’t need books, games, or even conversation to provide entertainment.
As we sat on our perch, watching the show, little droplets of water began to come from the sky. Lightning came closer. Thunder grew louder, echoing from monolith to monolith. We scooted closer together, huddling under our tarp, unable to take our eyes from the most amazing fireworks display unfolding before us.
Yosemite National Park is a divine classroom where creation itself is the teacher and the lesson is God’s incredible handiwork and power. Every direction you turn, massive rock formations remind us that He is our Rock and salvation; the cascading waterfalls that He is the living water; trails carved out of stone that He is guiding my path. You see the variety of plant and animal life, colors of the rocks, blue of the day sky, and deep indigo of the night sky sprinkled with stars, and you cannot help but be in awe of His creativity.
“He directs the snow to fall on the earth
and tells the rain to pour down.
Then everyone stops working
so they can watch his power.
He loads the clouds with moisture,
and they flash with his lightning.
The clouds churn about at his direction.
They do whatever he commands throughout the earth.”
Job 37:6-7,11-12
He created all of this for His glory and as a testimony of His divine power, so that we could know Him, and know Him better. He gave us this beautiful creation to care for and manage well. We are powerless to create something from nothing, let alone grow a tree the size of a Sequoia or make lightning come from the sky. Yet His breath spoke this very creation into existence.
Resting in our cradle of rocks worn smooth by wind and rain, surrounded by massive rock formations made me feel small, insignificant, and rather powerless. However, gazing upward, I was reminded; His power is made perfect in my weakness. (2 Corinthians 12:9) And that same power is what lives in me and works through me.
Now all glory to God, who is able, through His mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. -- Ephesians 3:20
The Creator of the Universe, the one who tells the lightning bolts where they should go and the clouds when to let loose also knows the number of hairs on my head and how many days I will live on this earth.
If God has the power to command the seas and storms, He has the power to calm, protect and comfort my stormy soul.
Questions for Reflection:
1. How have you observed God’s power in nature?
2. Do you observe creation as a way of worshiping your creator?
3. I hope next time the thunder in your life threatens to steal your peace, you are able to rely on the One who created thunder to calm your storm.
