We have been in a period of stormy weather here in the central Plains. Many of you know that I love taking sky pictures. There is hardly any better time to take some amazing shots of God’s work in the skies than during the build-up or the after-effects of a good old Kansas storm.
The clouds build:
Then darken:
And after the drama of the storm, there were these stunning clouds.
As I looked at these skies recently, I was reminded of the undeniable power of God in the creation of such beauty.
I remembered reading Job 26, how Job talked about God’s unmatchable power that we see, or sometimes can’t see, in our world around us.
Read some of Job’s description:
“He stretches out the north over empty space and hangs the earth on nothing. He wraps up the waters in His clouds, and the cloud does not burst under them. He obscures the face of the full moon and spreads His cloud over it. He has inscribed a circle on the surface of the waters at the boundary of light and darkness. The pillars of heaven tremble and are amazed at His rebuke. He quieted the sea with His power…by His breath the heavens are cleared…” (Job 26:7-13)
Just stop and think of the astounding power of God that we see in the heavens and on this earth. His design in creation and His ability to hold everything together, causing the world to operate as it should, is beyond comprehension.
Listening to the deep thunder this past weekend during our storms made me feel very small. Our windows even seemed to shake at the power of that rumble. It reminded me of God’s strength. So did our gorgeous clouds, so beautifully designed by God.
But listen to what else Job said in the last verse of that chapter.
“Behold, these are the fringes of His ways…”
All these mighty acts of God that Job describes are then said to be the fringes of His ways.
Fringes…the outer edges, the outskirts.
Stop and think about that. We see only a small part of God’s ways, of His power, and of His plan. Yet that small part is so vast and complex! Imagine what He is doing that we know nothing of!
Job continues:
“And how faint a word we hear of Him! But His mighty thunder, who can understand?”
We only hear a small whisper of God’s ways in the thunder of His power!
Oh dear friend, if all that we see and hear of God are only the fringes of His ways, then imagine what He is doing in our lives that we cannot know or see.
He is behind the scenes of those who know Him, working out His perfect will in our lives. Sometimes we don’t feel that He is doing anything at all, or that our circumstances are too hard and so we doubt Him.
Nothing can separate us from the love of God, and nothing can deter Him from working out His best plan for His children. Amid our suffering…our questions…our fears…our pain…our tears – God is doing so much more than we know.
Someday we will move from the fringes of His ways to seeing His final plan, and we will understand that all along this life, our great God was weaving a beautiful masterpiece full of His mighty grace.