Light Show

 Under the whole heaven He lets it go, and His lightning to the corners of the earth. Job 37:3

 

It was the most beautiful light show I have ever seen. Delaware is really flat. We were driving through on our way home from vacation and the night was really dark, lots of clouds and no moon in sight. It seemed like lightning started to appear out of nowhere. It was high and bright, vertical between clouds. Each bolt brighter and larger than the last and showing an unusual variety of color. I was so glad not to be driving so I could watch it.

As we approached the toll plaza on Route 1 we drove right into the well-lit area. It starts about one half mile before the toll so drivers don’t miss it. The street lights stole my attention, brought my eyes from high in the sky watching what God was doing right down to earth to see what man was doing. Even as I tried to look through the lights to see what was happening in the sky the vision was dulled by the street lights.

This lightning show added to an already grateful state of mind for me. The gratitude list:  1. We have bought a new house that I think is wonderful; 2. We spent a few vacation days with good friends who are the King and Queen of hospitality (we were pampered and waited on); 3. Our vacation weather was terrific! I had been praising God for days. The light show was more thing to give me joy!

Once we were home, it was my task to acquire homeowners insurance, talk to the cable company (again!), the phone company, and get all the documentation we needed for a real estate settlement. I tried to get it all done yesterday. After the calls, I had to admit that I was no longer praising God or anyone else. My eyes came right back to earth.

These are some of the most time-consuming, seemingly unproductive ways to spend an afternoon. It was frustrating, repetitive, and  it makes me feel more technologically challenged than I do on a normal day. I like to feel in control and understanding. Dealing with these companies makes me feel stupid and like I am not communicating well.

I quickly went from the high of God’s goodness to the low of earthly frustrations. These problems are meaningless in the whole scheme of eternity.  I had been rolling along in life keeping my eyes on the Lord and it felt great. Then, a minor frustration comes along, like lights in a toll booth, and my attention is brought out of the skies to the earthly responses I like to think are gone.

Though I did not curse or yell at anyone, I was more easily upset after these calls. How silly! Like it matters. In fact, I have to go back to the truth of every situation being a test. Was God glorified in my responses? Was He glorified in my heart? Is He sovereign over my time?

I had an agenda yesterday that didn’t get completed. Now, it is the same agenda I have for today. No one was hurt because it wasn’t completed yesterday. God took something off my plate today that has opened up time for me to accomplish more than I thought I would. He always takes care of the details when I trust Him, He did it in spite of my poor attitude yesterday – which I did confess.

That light show in the sky will stick with me for quite a while. God’s glory was so beautiful, His power in the lightning was on display, and His grace to allow to me to watch it for so many miles on a vast black canvas (that we don’t have in Pennsylvania like they do in Delaware) were great reminders to me of how big He is and how small I am.

The aggravations of yesterday are already history for me. The calls are made, the tasks accomplished, I can let it all go now.

This is as it should be. The greatness and sovereignty of God should outlast, outweigh, and outshine, the frustrations and aggravations of this world.

What are the tollbooths you need to look past in order to see the glory of God?