December 28, 2004

When God Thunders

You called in trouble, and I delivered you; I answered you in the secret place of thunder. —Psalm 81:7

Bible In One Year: Zechariah 5-8; Revelation 19

Thunder rolls across the Sawtooth Mountains, crashing and echoing through the peaks and canyons, shaking the ground with celestial sonic booms. My old dog cuts and runs. I stand amazed and delighted.

The storm reminds me of the "secret place of thunder" from which God answered His people (Psalm 81:7). Israel cried out from the straw pits and brick kilns of Egypt. In time, God's salvation rolled over the land in peals of thunder (Exodus 9:13-34).

Another psalm speaks of the storm that overshadowed Israel as they passed through the Red Sea (Psalm 77:16-20). Its thunder spelled doom for the Egyptians but deliverance to God's people. Each resounding clap was the comforting voice of a Father speaking to His children.

When Jesus foretold His death in John 12:28-29, He called on His Father to glorify His name. A voice answered from heaven saying, "I have both glorified it and will glorify it again." To the crowd, it sounded like thunder.

Are you in trouble? Cry out to God in your sorrow and distress. You may not hear the thunder roll, but it will reverberate through the heavens once again as He answers you "in the secret place of thunder." God will speak comfort to your heart and deliver you from your fears. —David Roper

The lightning of a mighty storm,
Its thunder from on high,
Reminds us that our powerful God
Will answer when we cry. —D. De Haan

Those who trust in God find comfort in His power.