Day 2801 of the 7 day Bible verse challenge. Isaiah 30:30. The Lord will cause people to hear his majestic voice and will make them see his arm coming down with raging anger and consuming fire, with cloudburst, thunderstorm and hail. NIV
Thunderstorms terrified me as a little kid. This sudden unleashing of calamitous crashes and brilliant displays of lights tearing through the darkness. Windows rattling, winds beating against the walls, the sheer fear that everything would be blown away or destroyed in the chaotic aftermath of the violent torrent. Just something about the seemingly unstoppable power found within nature ushered in these instant fears of being completely unable to stand against it.
But as I’ve grown, I’ve found a comfort in nature’s power. It’s in this feeling that behind all the precipitation and swirling clouds and turbulent noise that there’s a control hidden somewhere. It’s a sense that there’s a finger pointing those storms along their course. It’s a trust that God is in fact the One who designs and controls and purposes everything that happens. And having endured many storms along this road, it’s a reminder that no matter what we’re left with in the wake of such force, we’ll see the sun again on the other side.
Having taken a few steps down this eternal road of faith, I’ve found that a thunderstorm doesn’t have to be fearful and unsettling. In fact, in a rather radical turn of events, I far prefer a stormy day to one of sunshine these days. It’s all a matter of what we know, what we believe, what we trust. You see, as kids, we see storms as these things that tear down houses and even shake the steely resolve of the parents that we’re used to relying on to be brave and certain and able to control every facet of life. So we don’t know but to be afraid because we don’t know that there’s more than what we can see and hear.
But even as adults, the storms we face in life can still be terrifying. Not because we’re afraid of the lightning and thunder, but because we’re aware that they display a tiny taste of the authority found in our Creator. And in this world that has long been on a road fleeing from His side, we too have found ourselves a million miles away from the One who has the ability to topple buildings and flood cities and completely level civilizations.
We live in fear of storms because we know that we can do nothing to stand against them if we’re not meant to do so. We know that there’s a power beyond our control. We know that everything can truly change in the blink of an eye, and yet, we continue to live as if it won’t. We go on living our lives as if we have a reliable refuge into which we can flee in order to find safety from the violent winds blowing through. We live as if this world, or at least those in it, can somehow fashion something that can stand against God’s wrath.
But as we discussed yesterday, humanity can’t stand against God. We can’t contend with His power. We can’t build a fortress strong enough to withstand the unveiling of God’s divinity. Even should every human band together and in one unified force rise against His throne, we’d still be decimated without making a dent in His authority. And yet, society in large continues in the assumption that we’ll make it. That somehow we can live in utter foolishness and still manage to reach eternity unscathed.
The world has chosen to ignore God’s power so far as to apparently even believe that it doesn’t exist. People think that God isn’t there because that idea is easier and more comforting than the thought that He really is. You see, we all know deep down that our inabilities will one day rise to the surface. We know that our errors will be laid bare before the throne. We know that righteousness and responsibility are only avoidable for a time before the waters start to rise.
We know that a day of reckoning is coming, but rather than take hold of the lifeline we’ve been offered, much of humanity continues to just keep swimming in sin thinking nothing of the floodgates that will one day be opened.
Storms are just a hint. They’re a glimpse of what’s possible. We categorize them. We describe them. We spend our time forecasting and predicting and playing as if we have some way of knowing what’s coming. But in all of our time spent playing gods, we’ve forgotten the truth. We’ve forgotten that we’re not on a throne. We’ve forgotten that we can’t predict the onslaught. We’ve forgotten that there is no forecast model by which we can rely on to warn us of Christ’s return.
And because we can’t predict it, we learn to find solace in the hope that it isn’t coming.
Friends, Scripture tells a far different story to the one that we’ve so comfortably concocted. Christ is coming. And while we may have found an ability to escape the fear of thunderstorms and their power, we’ll be thoroughly surprised at just how much more He can do. You see, that’s the warning we need to take from Scripture. The things we’ve seen, the emotions we’ve felt, the fears we’ve held are miniscule compared to what’s coming.
Thankfully, we’ve been warned ahead of time. We got advanced notice. But still, many refuse to believe it possible. They refuse to admit that they’re not ready, and so instead they pretend that there’s nothing to get ready for. Friends, we can’t afford to partake of that same mindset. Because living our lives as if God can do nothing will leave us only a new understanding of fear once He does.
The issue is that He has largely remained quiet for a long time. He speaks only in whispers through Scripture to those with eyes to see and hears to hear and hearts willing to understand. But society has managed to mostly ignore His voice, His presence, and therefore His warnings. We see a world lavishing in sin and getting by with it. We see the wickedness swelling as evil grows more accepted and embraced. And all of it just adds to this assumption that we can continue doing whatever we want for as long as we want.
But there’s a day unlike any we’ve ever faced on its way. And the storms we’ve feared will pale in comparison to the wrath that is witnessed. He will move. He will speak. He will show the world just how wrong they’ve been. And if we’re wise, we’ll learn to seek our refuge in Him as He is the only One who can save us from what He has planned. We’re free to ignore all this and play it down and laugh it off and assume we’ll be ready for what we believe to be just another stormy day.
We may blindly feel as though we can rely on our experience or strength to get us through whatever may lie ahead because we’ve seen many storms in life and felt the power they hold. But we can’t afford to forget the power that holds them. And when the end has come, we’ll want to be hidden under His wings rather than on the receiving end of their might. Because though we’ve withstood every torrent before, humanity has no capacity to withstand the full intensity of what’s been ordained to befall the fallen when He’s finally had enough of our carousing, arrogance, and stupidity.
Make no mistake, He has been watching and listening all this time. He has seen humanity’s downfall. He has witnessed the growth of sin. He has felt every time that we’ve chosen to ignore Him and chase after the world. And now a storm tarries on the horizon. What’s been a gentle whisper will erupt into a thunderous declaration of truth. This calm preface will vaporize into an inescapable reckoning. God’s not dead, we just take His patience for granted. But one day, we’ll not have that luxury any longer.
