Yesterday was a very very long day for me. In fact the past few months have been some very very long months for me. Without going into too much detail I was at the end of my rope and panicking. I was in my car on my way to work. I was running late, my windshield wipers were barely working and there was a huge thunderstorm going on. All of a sudden my radio starts freaking out. So I go through my presets trying to find one that isn't fuzzy. I am so done and at the end of my rope. I finally land on my last preset and it comes through crystal clear. The song that is playing is "Light up the Sky" by the Afters. The lyrics come through loud and clear.
"You light light light up the sky you light up the sky"
*A huge lightning bolt comes and lights up the sky*
"to show me you are with me"
I am in tears now. As the rest of the song plays through I am reminded that no matter what God is with me. When the song finished playing the radio goes all fuzzy again. God had a message for me, that He is with me. It was a truly beautiful moment. But what does God being with me mean.
These past few months I have seen countless facebook posts using bible verses and quotes as motivational posters. Things like God will work out all things for our good, and God has a plan for you. While these things are true, I don't necessarily find them motivational. God had a plan for Moses. He told Moses that he would lead the people to the promised land. While God did fulfill this, Moses was left dying in the dessert with a bunch of whiny isrealities. He never got to see the promise fulfilled. Abraham was promised that his descendents would be a great nation and that they would outnumber the stars in the sky. While God has fulfilled this and will continue to fulfill it, Abraham died while he had only one son, maybe a couple of grand kids but certainly nowhere near the fulfillment of the promise.
I truly believe that God has a plan for us and works things out for our good and the Glory of God. But the thing is..... it hardly ever looks that way. Job had everything taken away. He had nothing. When He asked God why and begged God to stop, God did not reply by saying "It will all work out, " Or "Eventually I'll make it better". Infact here is a list of things God did NOT say to Job.
- "You were made to thrive! Not just survive"
- "You're an overcomer!"
- "Hang in there! Things can only get better!"
- "All things work out for good you know"
- "You can do all things through Me"
"“Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation?
Tell me, if you understand.
5 Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know!
Who stretched a measuring line across it?
6 On what were its footings set,
or who laid its cornerstone—
7 while the morning stars sang together
and all the angels[a] shouted for joy?
8 “Who shut up the sea behind doors
when it burst forth from the womb,
9 when I made the clouds its garment
and wrapped it in thick darkness,
10 when I fixed limits for it
and set its doors and bars in place,
11 when I said, ‘This far you may come and no farther;
here is where your proud waves halt’?
when it burst forth from the womb,
9 when I made the clouds its garment
and wrapped it in thick darkness,
10 when I fixed limits for it
and set its doors and bars in place,
11 when I said, ‘This far you may come and no farther;
here is where your proud waves halt’?
12 “Have you ever given orders to the morning,
or shown the dawn its place,
13 that it might take the earth by the edges
and shake the wicked out of it?
14 The earth takes shape like clay under a seal;
its features stand out like those of a garment.
15 The wicked are denied their light,
and their upraised arm is broken.
or shown the dawn its place,
13 that it might take the earth by the edges
and shake the wicked out of it?
14 The earth takes shape like clay under a seal;
its features stand out like those of a garment.
15 The wicked are denied their light,
and their upraised arm is broken.
16 “Have you journeyed to the springs of the sea
or walked in the recesses of the deep?
17 Have the gates of death been shown to you?
Have you seen the gates of the deepest darkness?
18 Have you comprehended the vast expanses of the earth?
Tell me, if you know all this.
or walked in the recesses of the deep?
17 Have the gates of death been shown to you?
Have you seen the gates of the deepest darkness?
18 Have you comprehended the vast expanses of the earth?
Tell me, if you know all this.
19 “What is the way to the abode of light?
And where does darkness reside?
20 Can you take them to their places?
Do you know the paths to their dwellings?
21 Surely you know, for you were already born!
You have lived so many years!
And where does darkness reside?
20 Can you take them to their places?
Do you know the paths to their dwellings?
21 Surely you know, for you were already born!
You have lived so many years!
22 “Have you entered the storehouses of the snow
or seen the storehouses of the hail,
23 which I reserve for times of trouble,
for days of war and battle?
24 What is the way to the place where the lightning is dispersed,
or the place where the east winds are scattered over the earth?
25 Who cuts a channel for the torrents of rain,
and a path for the thunderstorm,
26 to water a land where no one lives,
an uninhabited desert,
27 to satisfy a desolate wasteland
and make it sprout with grass?
28 Does the rain have a father?
Who fathers the drops of dew?
29 From whose womb comes the ice?
Who gives birth to the frost from the heavens
30 when the waters become hard as stone,
when the surface of the deep is frozen?
or seen the storehouses of the hail,
23 which I reserve for times of trouble,
for days of war and battle?
24 What is the way to the place where the lightning is dispersed,
or the place where the east winds are scattered over the earth?
25 Who cuts a channel for the torrents of rain,
and a path for the thunderstorm,
26 to water a land where no one lives,
an uninhabited desert,
27 to satisfy a desolate wasteland
and make it sprout with grass?
28 Does the rain have a father?
Who fathers the drops of dew?
29 From whose womb comes the ice?
Who gives birth to the frost from the heavens
30 when the waters become hard as stone,
when the surface of the deep is frozen?
34 “Can you raise your voice to the clouds
and cover yourself with a flood of water?
35 Do you send the lightning bolts on their way?
Do they report to you, ‘Here we are’?
36 Who gives the ibis wisdom[f]
or gives the rooster understanding?[g]
37 Who has the wisdom to count the clouds?
Who can tip over the water jars of the heavens
38 when the dust becomes hard
and the clods of earth stick together?
and cover yourself with a flood of water?
35 Do you send the lightning bolts on their way?
Do they report to you, ‘Here we are’?
36 Who gives the ibis wisdom[f]
or gives the rooster understanding?[g]
37 Who has the wisdom to count the clouds?
Who can tip over the water jars of the heavens
38 when the dust becomes hard
and the clods of earth stick together?
39 “Do you hunt the prey for the lioness
and satisfy the hunger of the lions
40 when they crouch in their dens
or lie in wait in a thicket?
41 Who provides food for the raven
when its young cry out to God
and wander about for lack of food?
and satisfy the hunger of the lions
40 when they crouch in their dens
or lie in wait in a thicket?
41 Who provides food for the raven
when its young cry out to God
and wander about for lack of food?
God was with Job. God was with Him throughout everything. But that didn't make the daily life any better. It didn't improve Job's quality of life.
So often I think we forget the power of God. We think of God as a kitten on a poster saying "Hang in there". So how does this relate to the song on the radio?
When most people think about God lighting up the sky they think of a gentle sunrise, or a loving warm spring day. Lightning is mostly associated with anger and wrath, not love. But that's the thing, God's power and love are not mutually exclusive. They must occur together. So when God chose to show himself by lighting the sky with lightning it was a huge show of His power, and more deeply His love.
So often I think we forget the power of God. We think of God as a kitten on a poster saying "Hang in there". So how does this relate to the song on the radio?
When most people think about God lighting up the sky they think of a gentle sunrise, or a loving warm spring day. Lightning is mostly associated with anger and wrath, not love. But that's the thing, God's power and love are not mutually exclusive. They must occur together. So when God chose to show himself by lighting the sky with lightning it was a huge show of His power, and more deeply His love.
It was if God was answering me the same way He answered Job. He was saying "I am with you" but He was also roaring loudly and showing just who He is. He was saying, It will get better but in MY time, not yours. He said "I AM and you are MINE."
God is not a motivational poster. He is the creator, the almighty, and the true fullness of love.
God is not a motivational poster. He is the creator, the almighty, and the true fullness of love.
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