The storm that we experienced the other night was pretty ominous. The lightning was maybe the worst I‘ve ever experienced and the driving conditions were horrendous.  At one point I wasn’t sure we were going to make it home. After being diverted by emergency personnel twice because of high water, I could only think of one more route and fortunately we made it…barely.  That road flooded over and has since been closed to traffic.

The next day everyone had a story to tell.  I repeatedly heard people say how the storm had frightened them.  It had unnerved me on my drive home as well. I was also concerned about others that I knew were also trying to get home.   I began to think – boy, God has a way of getting our attention. 

Thunder in the Bible is associated with the voice of God. God questioned Job,

“ Have you an arm like God? Or can you thunder with a voice like His?” (40:9) It also is sometimes used figuratively of God’s vengeance and power.  “The adversaries of the LORD shall be broken in pieces; From heaven He will thunder against them.” (I Sam 2:10)  When lightning is used with thunder, it becomes a vivid picture of an even more ominous event.  In the book of Revelation John saw the throne of God and from it  “proceeded lightnings, thunderings, and voices.” (4:5)  In Revelation 11 John saw “the temple of God was opened in heaven, and the ark of His covenant was seen in His temple. And there were lightnings, noises, thunderings, an earthquake, and great hail.”(v. 19)

As I thought about that storm and the fear that it produced in the hearts of people, many do not have any fear about the throne of God.  For those that have trusted in Christ as Savior and Lord, we need not fear…but to those who haven’t, “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” (Heb 10:31)  To them that storm is a snippet of a future meeting with God Almighty.