Our boys were so young, all packed into the back seat of our old Caprice station wagon. It was a Friday evening and we were returning home from a routine grocery trip, looking forward to a late-spring weekend full of family time. The sky was an odd color; I remember mentioning aloud that I had never seen such a ominous-looking sky. Little did I know, but that strange sky was only the prelude to what would be a devastating evening. When we were within a few miles from home, the hail began to bounce off of the windshield of the car. As we crested a hill, we witnessed an unbelievable scene unfolding before us. What I saw that evening will remain with me forever.
The fateful evening of May 31, 1985, will long be remembered in Beaver County. On that evening, an F-3 tornado ripped through our tiny community, taking three lives locally, ravishing neighborhoods, destroying lives, and permanently changing the landscape surrounding our home. Never before had I witnessed such raw power, mature trees torn from the soil, homes completely gone, cement block buildings reduced to rubble, impassable roads buried in debris. I can even recall seeing cars perched in trees as if they were abandoned matchbox toys.
When Job was tried by Satan, he desperately clung to his faith in his God. He would not curse or blame his God for the circumstances that had befallen him. But as Job was gradually worn down by the wounds of his battle and those overwhelming loses, the weakness of his humanity began to show. As he was belittled by his friends, abandoned by his wife, and alone in his grief, the seeds of doubt began to take root. Where was his God; why was He silent? He needed to hear from his God, and hear he did!
God responded to Job by posing a series of questions with one common theme-the undisputable, matchless power of an almighty God. Job, can you create life? Open the gates of death? Control the elements of nature? Scatter stars in the heavens? Send forth lightning? Job, “Hast thou an arm like God?” Does anyone? He, the Almighty Creator, is “upholding all things by the word of his power.” “He causeth the vapours to ascend from the ends of the earth; he maketh lightnings for the rain; he bringeth the wind out of his treasures,” the same powerful wind that I witnessed that fateful evening. Job was humbled in the presence of such authority displayed by His God, and so am I!
My heart is humbled when I consider that this is the awesome God Whom I serve, a God Who rules the universe with the strength of His name, the same God Who sent His Son to redeem my soul. Sometimes it is good for me to sit quietly, and to ponder His power and greatness, to see Him anew in all His glory. And imagine, this same God is my Father. Simply amazing!
Jeremiah 32:17 Ah Lord God! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee.
God, may I always be humbled in the presence of Your great power. You are an awesome God and worthy of all my praise and honor.