The last several weeks have been filled with torrential downpours. It started when I arrived in Ohio to go fishing and except for a day here and there, even after I returned home, has been going on for more than a week now. Most recently, both yesterday and today we have had rainfall non-stop. Some of the worst storms we have seen occurred Friday evening – they were so bad with lightning and thunder that our Doberman, Lexie, actually ran into the closet and tried to hide. It was sad to see her so scared and Janet finally went upstairs to try and calm Lexie down.
It was, for all intents and purposes, an exercise in futility. Lexie is finding it hard to remain calm and she doesn’t understand the intensity of the storms we have in the area. For the past two evenings, lightning has lit up the night sky constantly and the lake behind our home has risen another several inches, bringing it to the highest level we have seen since we moved here more than three years ago. While this may be good for fishing, it is clear than the water draining into the lake from overflow areas has brought us to the maximum level we can handle.
Several of the suburbs around us have experienced hail as well. I don’t mind the rain nearly as much as I worry about damage from hail. Oddly, back in 1888, it was on this day that hail the size of oranges fell in India – damaging property and life alike. The hail came without warning and was accompanied by clouds so thick that it seemed like night, even though it was midday. Farmers were caught in their fields without warning and were killed on the spot, along with their animals, as the hail fell from the sky, up to two feet thick in places. Of course, more modern detection systems in place today greatly reduce the chance of this ever happening again, at least without warning, but the intensity of the storm is still something to remember.
Thankfully, the current rainstorms aren’t all that bad in comparison to what could have been. Still, it can get depressing to have rain day after day with no end in sight – at least until next week-end. One of the most compelling references to rain in the Bible comes in the book of Job. Job had suffered all kinds of adversity including the loss of his family, livestock and was in the presence of three friends who try and convince him that he has sinned against God. But Job was steadfast in his faith and didn’t subscribe to the idea that he had been less than faithful to God.
Near the end of the book, God and Job have a discussion, or perhaps it is a lecture, from God to Job about the origins of the earth and all that God has done in the creation of the world. The verse tonight is from the book of Job – we are told, in Job 36:27-33, “He draws up the drops of water, which distill as rain to the streams; the clouds pour down their moisture and abundant showers fall on mankind. Who can understand how he spreads out the clouds, how he thunders from his pavilion? See how he scatters his lightning about him, bathing the depths of the sea. This is the way he governs the nations and provides food in abundance. He fills his hands with lightning and commands it to strike its mark.”
My encouragement this evening is that God created the heavens and the earth and is without equal for all eternity. It is this God that wants to have a deeper personal relationship with each of us and my prayer is that you will approach God with a sincere desire to know him in a more intimate way that you ever have before. Have a great day in the Lord, grace and peace…
Scott
Very encouraging.
Hail the size of oranges!! Whew.
Thanks
Dave