The Wonder of Thunder

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"On the morning of the third day there was thunder and lightning, with a thick cloud over the mountain, and a very loud trumpet blast. Everyone in the camp trembled. Then Moses led the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. Mount Sinai was covered with smoke, because the Lord descended on it in fire. The smoke billowed up from it like smoke from a furnace, and the whole mountain trembled violently."

Exodus 19:16-18, ESV

My poor baby hates thunder storms. And I do mean 'HATE'. We had the first thunderstorm of the year about a week ago, and he hid trembling under the piano. When a particularly loud boom shook the house, he scrambled into the basement and pressed himself into the couch.

I try to sit with Squirrel whenever there is a storm, even if it's at 2am huddled together in the bathroom; his fear breaks my heart. This particular night though, I sat with him for a while but was so behind on my soul-crushing workload for the week that I needed to leave him before the storm was over. The only thing I could think to do was to put the T.V. on loudly enough to (hopefully) drown out the crashing thunder.

Thus, my dog sat by himself in the basement watching Golden Girls, and I cleaned the kitchen and analyzed spreadsheet data, while also running down to the basement every 10 minutes to check on him.

I think this is the part where I'm supposed to write that his fear is unfounded, and I wish he could understand that he is safe. But the thing is, thunder is scary. Weather is threatening. Tornadoes, hurricanes, high winds, and, yes, lightening, can all do incredible damage. We as humans want to believe we can control absolutely everything in this word, but weather reminds us how tiny and fragile we really are.

I believe with every ounce of my soul that God is love. I also believe that God is holy and even a little frightening. I don't believe these ideas have to be contradictory.

I had an ant farm growing up. I'm sure my form was terrifying to those tiny insects, but I also never would have hurt them. I was the type of kid who helped carry ants across the driveway using leaves as transport vehicles to ensure my microscopic friends didn't get run over. But my best intentions didn't change the fact that I could crush them with my little finger if I so chose.

If you are in a season where you believe God to be harsh, exacting, and out to get you, then I'd like to start by introducing you to the God of Calvary who sent his beloved son to die for you.

For those of us who have become so overly familiar with God we just view Him as a buddy, we may need to step back and remind ourselves about the God of Sinai. His very presence was that of fire, smoke, and thunder. The Israelites were warned not to approach the mountain or they would die. Forgetting that God takes away from the wonder of the baby in the manger and the man on the cross. I think we've become so accustomed to the nativity scene that there is a part of us that thinks, "well of course God came in flesh in a manger; how could Israel not see?"

No, no, no. How can we not see the miraculousness of the God of Sinai coming to earth in the form of a baby, fully God and fully man, to die for us?

Squirrel, my love, the thunder will not get you in the house. You are safe here. And praise be to God, for those of us who wear the righteousness of Christ, we are brought close to the beautiful - yet dangerous - presence of God.

Don't tame the Almighty. Don't lose your wonder at His greatness. But don't let his hugeness and your smallness keep you from His presence, when he loves you so much.