thunderstorms

I love thunderstorms. There's just something about how powerful, raging, mysterious, and dangerous, but beautiful, soothing, inspiring and comforting they are. As I sat up on the steps of the church in the middle of a very loud one, under the arch, and looked out at the huge sky, I was reminded of the face of my Jesus. It occurred to me that Thunderstorms are a lot like Him. We have no control over storms. They can be extremely unpredictable at times. They are fierce, powerful, and dominating. So is our Jesus.
All too often I put Jesus in a box. I make Him what I want Him to be. I take all the things I like, all the things that feel good, comforting, safe, and then that's how I think of Him. That's not ok. Because when you think about it, that's not honoring Him anyway. That's being shortsighted and that's belittling Him. That's not loving Him in all ways. That's limiting Him to how I feel. That's like setting up boundaries in my heart, and only allowing myself to know the parts of Him that seem safe. That's restricting my love and adoration. When we limit and confine Him to what we want Him to be, we miss out on the chance to know Him completely. We hinder ourselves of learning more about Him. Our God as a whole.


My Jesus is loving, comforting, protecting, soothing, intimate, and a safe refuge. He is a peaceful God. He is personal and He is full of Grace. He is compassionate, and full of Mercy. He loves. He forgives. He is always here.

That's the Jesus that we all run to.

My Jesus is fierce, full of power, mighty, just, angry, jealous, condemning, authoritative, commanding, forceful. He is a warrior. He is supreme, He is sovereign, He is dominant. He is ruler of all.

That's the Jesus I choose to forget about sometimes.

Because it's not sweet and comforting. It doesn't always feel safe and soothing. Here's the thing though…sometimes He's not supposed to. Sometimes He chooses to be fierce and angry. Our god is a God of justice. He is not confined. We may choose that in our hearts, even without realizing it, but He is not.
He demands reverence. We are supposed to fear Him. He is a jealous God. He's not always feel good and comforting. We could never, ever find enough words to adequately display His character. He's indescribable. But we can't just make Him into what we want Him to be. Our hearts should not limit Him.

As I was surrounded by that thunderstorm, by the darkness and the coldness, watching the lightening strike and listening to the thunder roar, I was reminded that like our Jesus, they can be comforting and peaceful, but at the same time they are mysterious, dangerous, powerful, and demand respect. We are called to come to His feet with fear and reverence. To remember His power and control. To be in constant awe and amazement of the God we serve.
We are so little in His huge hands. And that's how it's supposed to be.