"His way is in the whirlwind and storm, and the clouds are the dust of His feet." Nahum 1:3

I am convinced that most (all?) of the internal struggles we face in life are because we have such a low view of God. As discussed in the previous post, when Proverbs 19:23 tells us that "the fear of the Lord leads to life," we realize that in order to find true life we must start at a place of fear. We are not talking about just any kind of fear, but that of fearing the Lord. Fearing the Lord starts at a place of recognizing the greatness and power of the Lord God Almighty.

Nahum 1:3 (quoted above) describes God's way as being "in the whirlwind and storm." In scripture it is often in the midst of these whirlwinds that God would speak to His people (i.e. Job 38:1). In fact, scripture is replete with examples of the Lord using storms, lightening, thunder, floods, any type of weather, really, to demonstrate His power and might (Ex. 14:21-31; 19:16-19; 1 Kings 19:9-18; Matt. 8:23-17).

Anyone who has ever experienced a powerful storm can attest to the strength such storms possess. I recall video of a tornado that blew through Dallas in 2012. The video shows the winds from that storm tossing 18-wheelers in the air as if they were matchbox cars. Or think back just a year prior to when that F5 tornado tore through parts of Alabama, obliterating entire neighborhoods and communities. The storm that brought that tornado killed at least 283 people in 6 states.

He is a fierce and mighty God. The sheer power of a storm, which can cause all people great and small to flee toward shelter, is no match for the power of God. In fact, our God doesn't just have the power of a single storm; no, His power is greater than a combination of the worst of storms on this earth. Weather itself bends in submission to the Lord God.

I took a course in Astronomy near the end of my college career. I have always held a fascination with planets, galaxies, and the universe in general, and it was a course I was most excited about. Thankfully, the class did not disappoint.

One night in particular stands out in my memory. We had just spent the evening in the observatory, finding planets, stars, and other incredible places in our sky with high quality telescopes. I sat in the car with my best friend, Natalie, and we talked with amazement over all we had learned. Trying to wrap your mind around the vastness of the universe is impossible, but it is always worthy of a noble effort.

I realized something that night that struck a chord deep within my heart, and I often recall it as I gaze at the night sky. I said something like this:

"What gets me most is that God is so big, He controls all of the universe. Every star, every planet, every galaxy exists under His power. But still, I realize He is even bigger, because He is over the scope of everything in existence, then He comes all the way down here and knows intimately little tiny me and little tiny you. Not only does He know us more than we know ourselves; He loves us. That is a big God."

That IS a big God. Nothing and no one in the heavens or on the earth is a match for His greatness and power. And then to think that He does not sit above, watching like one observing millions of tiny ants on an anthill. He is intimately involved in our lives.

So we start at the place of fearing the Lord. But what does fear look like? Is it being terrified of this great and mighty God who might squash us like bugs at any given moment? Is it just a general "awe" where we acknowledge He is big but don't let it change us? Or is there more?