Psalm 19 beautifully reminds us of how God speaks to us all daily and nightly through His creation, in the heavens and the firmament. And there really is something wonderfully peaceful, serene, soothing, and faith-building for many of us, in gazing up into the heavens on a clear starry night.
But as I sit here looking out my window on this early January day, the only thing I see is millions of snowflakes falling, and a wind with it that is piling up the snow faster than it can be shovelled, and no sign of it stopping for days. We’re in the midst of the biggest blizzard of the winter here so far, and it seems so wild and uncontrolled…anything but peaceful.
Or maybe it’s the attitude I’m bringing to it. Because as we all know, when these conditions get bad enough, schools, buses, businesses and everything else pretty much shuts down. And that means postponements and/or cancellations of personal plans and personal agendas, and when that happens most people, including me for sure, tend to just get frustrated, vexed and impatient. Because my plans have been disrupted! Which seems somehow so…well, outrageous to me personally…
Then I decided to open the Scriptures, and happened to be reading in the book of Job, and it’s like the Lord guided me straight to some words from Elihu in chapter 37. The apppearance of Elihu and his words which begin in chapter 32 by the way, seem to be like a bridge between the flawed theories and skewed accusations of Job’s three friends, and God’s own words to Job which begin in chapter 38. I mention this because God said He was angry with Job’s three friends and commanded them to repent by going to Job and offering sacrifices of bulls and rams for themselves, but He did not include Elihu in any of that (chapter42: 7-9).
Anyway, God drew my attention to these verses this morning: “God’s voice thunders in marvelous ways; He does great things beyond our understanding. He says to the snow, ‘Fall on the earth,’ and to the rain shower, ‘Be a mighty downpour.’ So that all men he has made may know His work, He stops every man from his labor. The animals take cover; they remain in their dens. The tempest comes out from its chamber, the cold from the driving winds. The breath of God produces ice, and the broad waters become frozen.” (Ch 37: 5-10 NIV)
This is an attitude adjustment I needed, and continue to need. Notice God is basically saying that He disrupts our plans and agendas (“stops every man from his labor”), through snowstorms or anything else He chooses, and whenever He chooses, so that everyone that He has made, “ may know His work.”
And when the Lord Himself takes over from Elihu with His speech to Job, isn’t it something how He continues to emphasize those parts of His creation that are symbols of things so mysterious, powerful and so uncontrollable? Like the “Behemoth”, and the “Leviathan.”
I need to see the beauty of the Lord in His unfathomable sovereignty speaking to me through this snowstorm! And to think of it as yet another point-blank reminder that He is in control, and not I.
And from that to pray for more and more trust and radical dependence on His sufficiency and His grace in my life. And His agenda. Period.
So the Lord stopped me from travelling to do certain things on my list this day, but then gave me a chance to write down these meditations this morning instead…to Him be the glory!
Blessings,
Bruce
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