“Out of the brightness of His presence, clouds advanced, with hailstones and bolts of lightning. The LORD thundered from heaven; the voice of the Most High resounded.”
Psalm 18:12-13

Hail 

This morning, my corner of the world was bright and sunny. Then as the day progressed, clouds began to darken the sky. As I did work inside the house, I started to hear pounding on the roof. When I looked outside, the largest hail balls I have ever seen were falling. But it never hails for very long. The hailing stopped less than a minute after it started. As I looked out the open back door, I saw the hail retreating toward the neighbor’s yard, and then a sudden flash of lightning, followed by an almost instantaneous boom of thunder. And then, as suddenly as it had come, the storm was over. The sky was silent and still.  

As I came into the house, I wondered, “Lord, what are you telling us? Is there a message in this display of Your power?”  

I can search for God, I can seek His face and read His Word every day. I can spend hours and hours in prayer. And still, there is unfathomably more about God that I will never understand on this side of heaven. The instant we see Jesus, we will finally understand and be like Him. But for now, we have much to learn. “For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known” (1 Corinthians 13:12).

I didn’t sense any particular message in the hail and lightning and thunder and quiet today. Just the most powerful message of all, that God is still in control of the world. No other object of our worship can ever cause hail, thunder, or lightning. We can be lied to by news reports or media sensationalism, but the sky does not lie. “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge” (Psalm 19:1-2).  

Night after night, what knowledge is revealed? Do you ever stop to wonder, ask, and listen for the answer? Yes, God is still speaking. Yes, even in the darkest of nights of our lives, His knowledge is revealed. In fact, every night sky is covered in stars with names that God alone knows. “He counts the stars and calls them all by name” (Psalm 147:4).

This same God who calls the stars by name has called you, too. He knows your name.  He knows the name you don’t yet go by. And He is still in control. 

“Dear heavenly Father, thank You for today’s reminder that You are still in control of the world. You alone have power to cause it to hail. What are You saying today? We are listening. In Jesus’ Almighty Name, Amen.”