Gaining Perspective - A Glimpse of God's Power, Protection and Presence

On Wednesday, work at the office was interrupted by what on most counts would’ve been considered a routine mid-west thunderstorm.  Work stopped and about a dozen or so coworkers and guys from the office took to the parking lot, eyes skyward.  It was dark and clouds were spinning and crossing paths.  Sirens were blaring all over the city.  Those who weren’t in the parking lot were glued to weather websites at their desks.  A local news station later reported that during that 2-hour period on Wednesday afternoon their website traffic was the highest ever recorded as people linked up looking for a tornado, and hoping for just enough warning to prevent a scenario like Joplin, MO experienced a few days earlier.  Over this past week it’s been difficult to get the images from Joplin out of my mind.  Details are still coming in, but what can be pieced together is that in mere seconds, and without much warning a mega-tornado that spawned several vortices touched down and wiped out a large part of that city, killing 139 so far with over 100 people still unaccounted for.

As I stood there in the parking lot Wednesday, I was reminded of a famous reference to a tornado found in Job 38-42 where God visits the earth and has a conversation with Job and a few onlookers out of the whirlwind.  As a quick summary, Job had experienced excruciating Satanic attacks in his life on his career, family, marriage and even his physical and mental health, all at the same time!  From the onset several of his friends, in self-righteous grandeur begin “counseling” Job on how to fix his problems by acknowledging and repenting from what they perceived were hidden sins that brought on Job’s affliction.  Job, albeit firm in his piety and attempt at blamelessness, was just short of wearing down and began showing hints of his spiritual frailty in the face of the enemy.   Standing there just in awe of the weather, I wondered what Job and his critics must have been doing when God showed up!

I sat down later and wrote out a few things about the whirlwind and how God was often associated with the appearance of a whirlwind in scripture.  Here are some general thoughts

• Whirlwind appears numerous times in the Bible and is often associated with God’s power, protection and presence.
• God’s power is evident in his ability to control the environment seen by witnessing his command of a devastating storm as his personal chariot.
• I am reminded of Jesus’ famous words in Matthew 8, “Peace, be still” that calmed the stormy seas in a moment.
• In Job and Ezekiel the whirlwind is God’s instrument of protection as God judges in order to preserve life.  God even reveals that Elijah’s promotion to heaven was through a whirlwind via heavenly chariot in 2 Kings 2.  This got me thinking of the many lives that were spared by the storm in Joplin.  We are quick to think of the devastation, but were it not for God who wills that none perish, what other destruction would the god of this world (Satan - John 8) work against mankind?  To those that for some reason by the grace of God were spared, I wonder for what purpose do they now owe a Christ-centered life for their ability to still live?  What about my own ability to still live and walk after Christ?!?  God’s grace is good.

A meteorologist I listened to later in the week was explaining some of the physics that operate in a tornado.  Even though I was only ½ paying attention I remember looking up when he began talking about the low air pressure that occurs when a tornado takes place.  As the air particles become more and more unstable, the air is literally sucked towards a dynamic point in space causing a vortex that we know of to be a tornado.  It’s the same thing that occurs in a hurricane, but much more concentrated.  Literally a vacuum is created.

He went on to explain how a person caught inside a tornado (see Wizard of Oz) would most likely experience the same feeling as a drowning man with the air sucked right out of their vacuum imploded lungs and with no ability to inhale the needed breath of life.  Whoa!  That is take-your-breath-away power.  Literally.  It is no wonder we see men freeze, fall down dead and go speechless when God’s shows up in the Bible.

How powerful is God!  And how much do we need him to sustain life!  This week I purposed to walk in the thankfulness of his grace that I have life.  This week I purposed to remember the awe inspiring, take your breath away presence of God that we see many times in the Bible when men came in to His presence.  I encourage you to join me in those purposes.