“Keep listening to the thunder of His voice and the rumbling that comes from His mouth. He loads the thick clouds with moisture; the clouds scatter His lightning. Whether for correction or for His land or for love, He causes it to happen.” Job 37:2, 11, 13
It’s rainy season in Puebla, Mexico. The days are sunny and mild but every day around 5 to 6pm, the skies gather darkness and bring rain for a few hours. The odd thing is how clearly it signals its arrival. The skies begin to darken well before, the wind stills, and the large drops are behested first by the small. Just as ordering at a restaurant, God places the order, and the rain comes soon after. Normally the rains are pleasant and non-eventful but the other afternoon, one rainstorm was especially severe. It brought tremendous rain, winds, and even some small hail. The odd thing was, the signal of the severe storm looked the same as a normal storm. It brings up the thought of the storms of life. The storms of life will come, they will signal us, but how do we know the severity of the coming storm? As I sit and ponder this with God, He reveals something much more complex than just running for cover from the rainstorms of life. He reveals to me that the true storm is not raging around me…but within me.
Job chapter 37 is a turning point in the book of Job for many reasons. First, it is the last chapter in which we hear from anyone else besides God or Job. The bulk of the book thus far has been Job’s four friends hogging up the page space with long-winded exhortations. One of those friends, Elihu, finishes his assessment of Job in chapter 37, but as he does, we see an event turn the direction of what we read. As Elihu lectures on, we see his language change. We see an event interrupt and even color his word choice; a huge storm is upon the horizon. We can flip ahead and see in the next chapter of Job that God speaks to Job out of a storm, so it’s apparent that as Elihu is preaching to Job, that he is seeing a big storm building upon the horizon. The funny thing about storms is that man in all of his wisdom, technology, and prowess will quickly go running for cover at just a few heavy drops sent by God. And this is just what we will see in our next chapter as God sends all Job's advice-dealers and rubber-neckers running for cover, leaving only Job, sitting by himself to deal with the coming storm. You see, Job believes that the storm he has been facing was a storm of life, an external attack. But God will soon reveal that Job has truly been dealing with a mighty storm raging inside.
We all deal with this same storm that rages inside us. We are born with a sin nature that is torn on destroying us. In fact, that is what sin does, it destroys life. And that is exactly why God hates sin...it destroys the precious life He has created. As this internal storm rages within us, two things can happen. The storm can rage on uncontrolled in one’s life. This is the picture of a life that has never called upon Jesus to save them from the ravages of their sin. Sin is embraced in this life and the life freely follows the course of self-desire, pride, and gratification. But for those lives that have sensed the great cost of their sin and the need for Jesus Christ to be their Savior, the storm does not subside. In fact, this is one of the greatest misconceptions about Christianity, that after accepting Christ your life will be perfect and you’ll never need and umbrella again. Not true. You see, as you call upon Christ and are anointed with His Holy Spirit, the real storms begin. And they are just as regular as a daily shower in Puebla. And the storms that rage within the believer are the Holy Spirit of God that resides within you battling the sin nature that is lodged deep within your DNA. But there is good news, the storms can be conquered, they can be conquered by obedience, submission, and yielding to the Holy Spirit and the words He whispers into your heart.
Today, the storm will rage inside. It can do great damage, or it can simply be a small passing shower, the decision is how you allow the Holy Spirit to work. In all you do, allow God’s Holy Spirit to advise you, guide you, and empower you to fight the good fight against the sin that will surely tempt you in this day. For in this way, you are not attempting to tame the storm yourself, but allowing the One that brought the rain, to draw it to a close.
“And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.” Ezekiel 36:7
Comments