I was privileged enough to witness just such a display a few days ago during our family trip down to Kentucky for my orientation at Berea College. We decided that after the actual orientation concluded we would take the following day to go and explore some of the local sites and sounds, and get a taste of Kentucky's rich history in the beautiful surrounding area.
During our ventures we watched as a storm developed on the horizon. For a few moments, the skies appeared to open up and rain fell in sheets, lashing across the windshield with tremendous force. Then all was quiet for a moment, and a majestic rainbow formed. What was even more incredible though was the fact that we drove right next to the end of said rainbow as it rested in a field no more than fifty yards away from the car. It was the second time in my life that I have been so near to the physical end of the rainbow (But still no gold...hmm. I must always be at the wrong end).
But the peace was not to last...after a few more moments the rain started afresh and came coupled with incredibly strong winds and lightning. At one point during this onslaught, a bolt of lightning struck the open ground a few hundred feet from our car. Seeing as we could no longer see from the windshield as the rain seemed to be literally "sucked" across the car and toward the center of the storm horizontally, and the fact that several deep flood pools were quickly developing on the back roads beneath our very tires, we decided to pull over and wait for a break in the weather. During this pause we took time to pray for our safety and thank the Lord for keeping us safe up to that point, despite the dangers we had encountered such as flying debris and opposing traffic on the narrow country roads with such limited visibility.
To conclude a long story, the storm continued to rage for the rest of the day, even after we decided to continue our journey back to the hotel, but I was nonetheless impressed with the order in the midst of such chaos. God's immense yet harnessed power was so evident as the lighting flashed and the wind screamed its warnings of the wrath and power of it's awesome Master.
But what really drove the message home later was a verse that I encountered from 2 Peter 3:10-13 about the Day of the Lord.
"But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare. Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness."
One of the laws of chemistry that we learned during my last semester of high school was that matter cannot be created or destroyed, it can only change forms. What amazed me about this scientific law is that when taken in conjunction with this verse, one can see the awesome power of the Creator. It makes perfect sense that only He who created matter itself would have the power to destroy it when the time came to do so...that power does not rest in the hands of that which was also created, namely man. How amazing then is God's power, and how terrifying the wrath of one who can create enough heat to melt the very elements themselves...?
"Kiss the Son, lest he be angry and you be destroyed in your way, for his wrath can flare up in a moment. Blessed are all who take refuge in him." (Psalm 2:12)
No comments:
Post a Comment