Storm Day

One of my cousins, posting on my Facebook Wall, mentioned how Superstorm Sandy again demonstrates how God can suddenly bring us to a standstill with just the smallest demonstration of His power.  Sandy was seemingly the most powerful storm ever to hit the east coast.  Yet she was just a small expression of the power of creation.  Earthquakes, volcanoes have even more power.  Tsunami can deliver so much destruction.

Up here in Franklin County Maine, its raining, but the house is dry and the lights are still on.  We feel secure against "Mother Nature" but only because her full force has not been brought to bear on us.

Consider this passage:

Wail, for the day of the LORD is near! It will come as destruction from the Almighty. Therefore all hands will fall limp, And every man's heart will melt. They will be terrified, Pains and anguish will take hold of them; They will writhe like a woman in labor, They will look at one another in astonishment, Their faces aflame. Behold, the day of the LORD is coming, Cruel, with fury and burning anger, To make the land a desolation; And He will exterminate its sinners from it. For the stars of heaven and their constellations Will not flash forth their light; The sun will be dark when it rises And the moon will not shed its light. Thus I will punish the world for its evil And the wicked for their iniquity; I will also put an end to the arrogance of the proud And abase the haughtiness of the ruthless. (Isaiah 13:6-11)

When we see storms like this here or around the world, when we see nature rise up and disregard us, we see the shadows of what this verse describes.  Limp hands and melted hearts.  Some hearts are harder than others and take longer to melt.  Indeed, Revelation tells us that even during some terrible times of judgement, men will shake their fists to heaven and curse God.  It won't matter.  Just like someone thinking they can outsmart the forces of nature only to be washed away, God, in His power, will eventually silence all.

There are many who point out that people have been predicting God coming back for a long time, only to not have Him arrive.  They therefore mock the idea that He's coming.  What's facinating to me is that the Bible even predicts that.

But first you must realize that in the last days some people won't think about anything except their own selfish desires. They will make fun of you and say, "Didn't your Lord promise to come back? Yet the first leaders have already died, and the world hasn't changed a bit." (2 Peter 3:3-4)

Peter then makes it clear that there is a reason it has taken longer than man thought it would take (and all those people who ignore Jesus' statement that no one knows when only add to this confusion).

The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance. (2 Peter 3:9)

God's not late, nor has He given up.  To the contrary, He is giving man more time to come to Him and be forgiven.  Every day that a person accepts His free forgiveness and enters into a relationship with Him is a day worth waiting for.  Patience only goes so far, though, and He will not delay forever.  Peter reminds us.

But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up. (2 Peter 3:10)

The storm is coming.  Everything, and I mean everything will stop.  No longer will it be possible to pick and and go on.  All will eventually face God whether they knew Him, believed in Him, or even admitted He existed.    If Superstorm Sandy can disrupt and in some cases end our lives so much, how much more should we take seriously the God who created the earth.

Have you not been paying attention? Have you not been listening? Haven't you heard these stories all your life? Don't you understand the foundation of all things? God sits high above the round ball of earth. The people look like mere ants. He stretches out the skies like a canvas-- yes, like a tent canvas to live under. He ignores what all the princes say and do. The rulers of the earth count for nothing. Princes and rulers don't amount to much. Like seeds barely rooted, just sprouted, They shrivel when God blows on them. Like flecks of chaff, they're gone with the wind. "So--who is like me? Who holds a candle to me?" says The Holy. Look at the night skies: Who do you think made all this? Who marches this army of stars out each night, counts them off, calls each by name --so magnificent! so powerful!-- and never overlooks a single one? Why would you ever complain, O Jacob, or, whine, Israel, saying, "GOD has lost track of me. He doesn't care what happens to me"? Don't you know anything? Haven't you been listening? GOD doesn't come and go. God lasts. He's Creator of all you can see or imagine. He doesn't get tired out, doesn't pause to catch his breath. And he knows everything, inside and out. (Isaiah 40:21-28, Message)