May 12 Under the Bed

May 12

Under the Bed

Ps 135:7 He causeth the vapours to ascend from the ends of the earth; he maketh lightnings for the rain; he bringeth the wind out of his treasuries.

 

The sudden brilliant flash of light was followed almost instantly by a house shaking explosion of sound. In that short interval between flash and boom he was able to charge across the room and dive for safety under the bed. That was what Spot did every time there was a thunderstorm.  

Lightening is an amazing thing. People have studied it for years. Ben Franklin was fortunate not to be killed when he flew his kite at the end of a slender metal wire, hoping to prove lightening was an electric current.

Now most educated people of the world know that lightening is a powerful form of electricity. Scientists have some idea how it forms and what creates the conditions for lighting. But what is less known is the treasure that God has built into the thunderstorm.

A flash of lightening creates heat hotter than the surface of the sun. When and where it strikes is beyond scientific certainty. One can only guess at the extreme voltage needed to bridge the space between ground and cloud. Lightening is both a fearful and wondrous thing.  

But why did God create it? One would hope there was a better purpose that just scaring us when it flashes and booms nearby. Well there is at least one benefit and it is essential for nearly all living things. Nitrogen. Without getting too involved with the biological need for nitrogen (I think I got c+ grades in biology) we need to understand how our bodies get nitrogen.

The air we breathe is about 80% nitrogen. Nearly all the world supply of nitrogen is in the air. But it is in a form we cannot use. That is where lightening comes in. Air normally will not conduct electricity. But when charges build up in the clouds small currents of electricity start changing the air (mostly nitrogen) until it will allow electricity to flow. Then WHAM! A bolt of lightning flashes. The heat generated is so great the nitrogen in the air is altered and is absorbed by the rain. A number of complicated chemical things happen but the result is a very weak form of nitrous acid falls on the earth.  This nitrogen rich solution is gobbled up by plants and when we eat the plants, or eat animals that ate the plants, we get a form of nitrogen we can use  which our bodies must have.

What a fantastic God we worship. He sends fertilizer in every thunder storm. Just notice how much greener lawns are after a good thunderstorm.

No wonder the psalmist starts with a call to worship.

Ps 135:1 ¶ Praise ye the LORD. Praise ye the name of the LORD; praise him, O ye servants of the LORD.

He is overflowing with praise. In verse three he continues.

 

Ps 135:3 Praise the LORD; for the LORD is good:

sing praises unto his name; for it is pleasant.

A closer look at our verse for today contains another example of why we should sing praises to the Lord.

 

Ps 135:7 He causeth the vapours to ascend

from the ends of the earth…

 

Here we see the psalmist describing the water cycle. It rains, the water evaporates, forms clouds and it rains again. The Bible described the water cycle thousands of years before scientists even suspected such a thing happened. Bernard Palissy is credited in the 16th century to be the scientist who compiled a theory of the water cycle. His theory would not be accepted for decades. But there it is in the Psalms, Job, and Jerimiah 51:16, thousands of years earlier.

Skeptics, biology teachers, and most scientists want us to believe (i.e. have faith in what they say) the world and everything in it just happened. Sorry, but I do not have that much faith in them. It is far easier for me to believe the Bible, which has proven itself reliable, accurate and life changing.

Our meditation for today is to consider the works of our Great God and praise Him. All the way from the secrets inside a cocoon that changes a worm into a butterfly, to the energy of a lightning strike. There are many. Take your pick and spend some time meditating on Gods great wonders, and His book.

Isa 40:8 The grass withereth, the flower fadeth:

but the word of our God shall stand for ever.