Because a Facebook status simply doesn't suffice! :)
What brings you closer to God? I'm sure a lot of things do. Reading the Bible. Praying. Doing good works. Even tragedies. Losing loved ones. Going through trials. The list can go on. But for me, it's lightning storms. Obviously, almost everyone enjoys beautiful, sunshiney weather. Rewarding work can be done outside, games can be played (especially baseball), and many other things. Others enjoy rain, just from the peacefulness that it brings as it flies through leaves on a tree. And you haven't lived until you've heard that rain falling on a tin roof. Still others enjoy snow. Peaceful, undisturbed snow is one of God's greatest beauties here on earth. As for me, I honestly don't care too much for rain or snow. I don't make it a secret that I'm a boy of the summer and I enjoy the sunshine. But at the end of a sunshiney day, I'd trade it away just to sit on a porch and watch God show off through a lightning storm.
Tonight I was at Sarah's place for awhile, and was leaving just as lightning started flashing and rolling thunder could be heard in the distance. Once I realized that storm was in the direction of my apartment, I FLEW home...of course, not before getting stuck behind the slowest of drivers. But anyway. I know some people can get scared of thunderstorms. Some don't like the loud bangs, yeah I get that. I know even others that had traumatic experiences with lightning...one of my childhood friends had lightning hit their chimney. And it's rare, but people die from lightning strikes too. But nonetheless, I haven't been traumatized and loud thunderclaps don't bother me. I LOVE thunderstorms! So I got home and began my thunderstorm tradition. I got my phone out and queued up Revelation Song by Phillips Craig & Dean. I ran into the kitchen and poured myself a glass of red wine...ONLY red wine will do, white wine simply doesn't suffice. I pulled up my chair on my porch, started playing the song on repeat, had a sip here and there, and just sat and watched.
Now I get excited during thunderstorms because, like I said, I like to watch God show off. Tonight was different. God wasn't just showing off. God was SHOWING OFF! Tonight these weren't just low rumblings and occasional white lights across the sky. These were bolts flying from the heavens down to earth. I remember seeing one that was so bright, it burned onto my retina for about 5 minutes. Every time I blinked, I could see the outline of this staggered bolt of glory. Wow. And just when I think the show was coming to a close...BANG! A huge claw-shaped bolt touches down and sends a huge crack through the sky. Those were the two that I remember most, and man were they beautiful.
Why do I love lightning storms so much? Well, I originally asked what brings us closer to God? To me, lightning storms are such a clear and tangible indication that God is here. So often we get the feeling that God is so distant and we can't connect with Him, so whenever I see lightning I rush out to meet Him there. I wrote something similar about this in the past, and I quoted Psalm 29:3, "The voice of the Lord is over the waters; the God of glory thunders, the Lord thunders over the mighty waters." Every time I heard that thunderclap, God was saying "Here I am." It leaves me awestruck because of how big God is. A thunderclap isn't something that seems to come from the east or west, THIS direction or THAT direction, but it surrounds you. It's all around you. Whenever I hear that sound, I feel my eyes scan the entire sky because God is EVERYWHERE! Occasionally I would just close my eyes and let my other senses take everything in. These crazy thunderclaps would send chills down my spine and make goosebumps rise up instantly. Even a cold rain came and pelted me for a little while on my porch. The music truly added to it though. I have three favorite songs from Phillips Craig and Dean, "Revelation Song", "Great I Am", and "When the Stars Burn Down". I like them so much because they are beautiful, but they also have an eerie sense to them. I feel like these would be songs played as I'm approaching the throne of God. "Holy holy holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come" - Revelation Song. "Hallelujah, holy holy, God Almighty, the Great I Am. Who is worthy? None beside thee. God Almighty, the Great I Am" - Great I Am. "Blessing and honor and glory and power forever to our God" - When the Stars Burn Down. All of this just adds to an extraordinary experience.
Tonight I found myself quoting Jeremiah 32:17, "Ah Lord GOD! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee." In this crazy life we live, I'm glad God gives us reminders that He's still here with us. God still has time for us as individuals and cares for us to our heart's deepest level, even while He roars just a small portion of His power through all of His creation. This is a truly awesome God we serve.
Like I said, a Facebook status simply doesn't suffice. I'm so thankful for the various things that God uses to bring us closer to His glory. We don't deserve that. We don't deserve to be anywhere near His glory, not in the sinful state that we're in. Even Christians go through life sometimes and forget to care about our relationship with God. It seems like a shame that God has to remind us so often just what a great God He is. But we're not perfect, He knows that. There's only one perfect being, and He's real. And thunderstorms may not bring you closer to God like they do with me, and you may not like thunderstorms at all. That's fine. I don't like spiders, but I have to remember that God created them, so they are good. Just remember that God is in thunderstorms and speaking through them. Don't be afraid to listen and I promise there is a wonderful experience to be had by witnessing just the smallest percentage of God's awesome beauty and power. And whatever brings you closer to God, find it and worship Him through it.
"The LORD also thundered in the heavens, and the Highest gave his voice; hail stones and coals of fire. Yea, he sent out his arrows, and scattered them; and he shot out lightnings, and discomfited them." - Psalm 18:13-14
"O Lord my God, when I in awesome wonder consider all the worlds Thy hands have made, I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder, Thy power throughout the universe displayed! Then sings my soul, my savior God to Thee, How great Thou art, How great Thou art!" - How Great Thou Art (my 2nd favorite hymn)
What brings you closer to God? I'm sure a lot of things do. Reading the Bible. Praying. Doing good works. Even tragedies. Losing loved ones. Going through trials. The list can go on. But for me, it's lightning storms. Obviously, almost everyone enjoys beautiful, sunshiney weather. Rewarding work can be done outside, games can be played (especially baseball), and many other things. Others enjoy rain, just from the peacefulness that it brings as it flies through leaves on a tree. And you haven't lived until you've heard that rain falling on a tin roof. Still others enjoy snow. Peaceful, undisturbed snow is one of God's greatest beauties here on earth. As for me, I honestly don't care too much for rain or snow. I don't make it a secret that I'm a boy of the summer and I enjoy the sunshine. But at the end of a sunshiney day, I'd trade it away just to sit on a porch and watch God show off through a lightning storm.
Tonight I was at Sarah's place for awhile, and was leaving just as lightning started flashing and rolling thunder could be heard in the distance. Once I realized that storm was in the direction of my apartment, I FLEW home...of course, not before getting stuck behind the slowest of drivers. But anyway. I know some people can get scared of thunderstorms. Some don't like the loud bangs, yeah I get that. I know even others that had traumatic experiences with lightning...one of my childhood friends had lightning hit their chimney. And it's rare, but people die from lightning strikes too. But nonetheless, I haven't been traumatized and loud thunderclaps don't bother me. I LOVE thunderstorms! So I got home and began my thunderstorm tradition. I got my phone out and queued up Revelation Song by Phillips Craig & Dean. I ran into the kitchen and poured myself a glass of red wine...ONLY red wine will do, white wine simply doesn't suffice. I pulled up my chair on my porch, started playing the song on repeat, had a sip here and there, and just sat and watched.
Now I get excited during thunderstorms because, like I said, I like to watch God show off. Tonight was different. God wasn't just showing off. God was SHOWING OFF! Tonight these weren't just low rumblings and occasional white lights across the sky. These were bolts flying from the heavens down to earth. I remember seeing one that was so bright, it burned onto my retina for about 5 minutes. Every time I blinked, I could see the outline of this staggered bolt of glory. Wow. And just when I think the show was coming to a close...BANG! A huge claw-shaped bolt touches down and sends a huge crack through the sky. Those were the two that I remember most, and man were they beautiful.
Why do I love lightning storms so much? Well, I originally asked what brings us closer to God? To me, lightning storms are such a clear and tangible indication that God is here. So often we get the feeling that God is so distant and we can't connect with Him, so whenever I see lightning I rush out to meet Him there. I wrote something similar about this in the past, and I quoted Psalm 29:3, "The voice of the Lord is over the waters; the God of glory thunders, the Lord thunders over the mighty waters." Every time I heard that thunderclap, God was saying "Here I am." It leaves me awestruck because of how big God is. A thunderclap isn't something that seems to come from the east or west, THIS direction or THAT direction, but it surrounds you. It's all around you. Whenever I hear that sound, I feel my eyes scan the entire sky because God is EVERYWHERE! Occasionally I would just close my eyes and let my other senses take everything in. These crazy thunderclaps would send chills down my spine and make goosebumps rise up instantly. Even a cold rain came and pelted me for a little while on my porch. The music truly added to it though. I have three favorite songs from Phillips Craig and Dean, "Revelation Song", "Great I Am", and "When the Stars Burn Down". I like them so much because they are beautiful, but they also have an eerie sense to them. I feel like these would be songs played as I'm approaching the throne of God. "Holy holy holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come" - Revelation Song. "Hallelujah, holy holy, God Almighty, the Great I Am. Who is worthy? None beside thee. God Almighty, the Great I Am" - Great I Am. "Blessing and honor and glory and power forever to our God" - When the Stars Burn Down. All of this just adds to an extraordinary experience.
Tonight I found myself quoting Jeremiah 32:17, "Ah Lord GOD! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee." In this crazy life we live, I'm glad God gives us reminders that He's still here with us. God still has time for us as individuals and cares for us to our heart's deepest level, even while He roars just a small portion of His power through all of His creation. This is a truly awesome God we serve.
Like I said, a Facebook status simply doesn't suffice. I'm so thankful for the various things that God uses to bring us closer to His glory. We don't deserve that. We don't deserve to be anywhere near His glory, not in the sinful state that we're in. Even Christians go through life sometimes and forget to care about our relationship with God. It seems like a shame that God has to remind us so often just what a great God He is. But we're not perfect, He knows that. There's only one perfect being, and He's real. And thunderstorms may not bring you closer to God like they do with me, and you may not like thunderstorms at all. That's fine. I don't like spiders, but I have to remember that God created them, so they are good. Just remember that God is in thunderstorms and speaking through them. Don't be afraid to listen and I promise there is a wonderful experience to be had by witnessing just the smallest percentage of God's awesome beauty and power. And whatever brings you closer to God, find it and worship Him through it.
"The LORD also thundered in the heavens, and the Highest gave his voice; hail stones and coals of fire. Yea, he sent out his arrows, and scattered them; and he shot out lightnings, and discomfited them." - Psalm 18:13-14
"O Lord my God, when I in awesome wonder consider all the worlds Thy hands have made, I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder, Thy power throughout the universe displayed! Then sings my soul, my savior God to Thee, How great Thou art, How great Thou art!" - How Great Thou Art (my 2nd favorite hymn)
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