A God principle in lightning and thunder

A loud blast of thunder woke me up on the morning of Tuesday, 5 September 2006. It happened just before 6am. It was still dark outside and it was raining lightly.

There were five to six more loud bangs. I could see the bright flashes through my window. And with each lightning flash came the accompanying thunder blast within a second or two.

The light of God's Word is followed by sound.

I love the sound of thunder. Whenever I hear thunder, I am reminded of the hymn How Great Thou Art: 

O Lord my God, When I in awesome wonder,
Consider all the worlds Thy Hands have made;
I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder,
Thy power throughout the universe displayed.

To me, it is God’s power displayed throughout the universe. The splendour and power of the lightning bolt, and the majestic sound of the thunder reverberating through the skies and walls, remind me of how awesome a God I serve.

As I lay on my bed, I wondered why the thunder came after the lightning. Why does sound come after light? As I thought about it, I received this revelation: The light of God’s Word is followed by sound.

In other words, when you receive light for a dark situation in your life in the form of God’s Word, you ought to give voice to it. You ought to speak it or confess it.

These verses then came to mind:

Romans 10:10
10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

2 Corinthians 4:13
13 And since we have the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, “I believed and therefore I spoke,” we also believe and therefore speak,  

Revelation 12:11
11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony…

If you really believe the Word in your heart, it is only natural you speak it forth. It is as natural as thunder coming after lightning. It is as natural as a golfing enthusiast talking about golf with his friends in a coffee shop.

I wondered about the rain too. Rain in the Bible is likened to God’s Word coming down from heaven and going forth.

Deuteronomy 32:1–2
1 “Give ear, O heavens, and I will speak; and hear, O earth, the words of my mouth.
2 Let my teaching drop as the rain, My speech distill as the dew, as raindrops on the tender herb, and as showers on the grass.  

Isaiah 55:10–11
10 “For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, and do not return there, but water the earth, and make it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater,
11 so shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; it shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.  

Just as rain falls to the earth, lightning falls to the earth. His Word comes down to us from heaven like rain and lightning. The wetness of His Word cleanses, refreshes and nourishes us. The light of His Word drives away darkness and shows us the way. And the thunder of His Word just sends the enemy fleeing in seven directions. 

Isn’t it wonderful that God can speak to us about His ways through nature? Indeed, Paul said:

Romans 1:20
20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead…

Praise God!

Back to homepage