Lightning Inside The Eyewall

"Out of the throne come flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder. And there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God."
                                                                                                                                   Revelation 4:5




This morning, as I am writing this blog, I am watching the Storm Tracker on the Weather Channel. They are tracking Hurricane Matthew, which will affect approximately 11 million people in Florida and the Carolina's. Currently, Hurricane Matthew is a Category 3 storm, but because of the lightening that is occurring inside of the eyewall, it is poised to quickly become a Category 4 storm.

When there is inner core lightning, it means that the storm is very strong and continues to strengthen as it moves. Studies have shown that these bursts in the inner core that are accompanied by electrical activity will cause a deepening of intensity. They will cause the storm to quickly escalate into a formidable force that wreaks much havoc throughout it's path.

Interestingly, the majority of storms have no lightning inside the eyewall. It is a very rare storm that does. That is because only the most powerful storms have the flashes of lightning within them.

Pondering these truths made me stop to consider some of the storms that I have personally experienced in my life. To be honest, the vast majority of them had little or no lightning inside the eyewall. Often, I would revert to survival mode and try desperately to avoid the discomfort of the storm that raged around me.

Recent revelation and understanding has taught me how to really lean in and experience God's presence and power in the midst of my storm. Instead of hunkering down and trying to minimize its effects, I realize that when I actively participate and cooperate with what God is doing that there are treasures to be found in the darkness. The primary treasure that we receive is more of God, Himself.

There is so much of Himself that God wants to give us when we are experiencing difficulties. Instead of shielding us from trials and tribulations, God reveals to us that He has something even better in store for us. What is better is the goodness, kindness, mercy, and love that flows from the very heart of God.

Over and over in His Word, He promises that we are never alone in the midst of our storm. He promises hat if we lean into our circumstances and lean into Him that He resides with us in the eye of the storm. He says, "My presence will go with you and I will give you rest" (Exodus 33:14).

The problem that we have, however, is that the noise of the storm around us is loud and sometimes it is hard to hear God while it rages relentlessly. Yet, as we acknowledge Jesus by faith and appropriate the truth of His Word, we will begin to see and hear Him more clearly. And, when we worship Him, we will feel His manifest presence in our lives.

As we ask Him to give us a "Spirit of Wisdom and revelation" (Ephesians 1:17), He will begin to teach us in the midst of our storm. This enables us to interact with His Word (which is what God uses to speak to us). The book of Hebrews tells us that "the Word that God speaks is alive and full of power [making it active, operative, energizing and effective]; it is sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating to the dividing line of the breath of life (soul) and [the immortal] spirit, and of joints and marrow [of the deepest parts of our nature], exposing and sifting and analyzing and judging the very thoughts and purposes of the heart" (Hebrews 4:12).

Ultimately, God is after our hearts. He wants to cleanse them and make them fully alive and functioning to Himself and His purposes. This is when He releases His power in our lives to accomplish His will.

God's power is the demonstration of His presence. His power and His presence are inseparable. This is what strengthens us and gives us the grace to be steadfast in our walk. This comes from truly knowing the depth of His love for us personally. Intimately.

The apostle, Paul, said, "May He grant you out of the rich treasury of His glory to be strengthened and reinforced with mighty power in the inner man by the Holy Spirit [Himself indwelling your innermost being and personality]. May Christ, through your faith [actually] dwell (settle down, abide, make His permanent home) in your hearts! May you be rooted deep in love and founded securely on love, that you may have the power and be strong to apprehend and grasp with all the saints [God's devoted people, the experience of that love] what is the breadth and length and height and depth [of it]; [That you may really come] to know [practically, through experience for yourselves] the love of Christ, which far surpasses mere knowledge [without experience]; that you may be filled [through all your being] unto all the fullness of God [may have the richest measure of the divine Presence, and become a body wholly filled and flooded with God Himself]! Now to Him Who, by the action of His power that is at work within us, is able to carry out His purpose and do superabundantly, far over and above all that we [dare] ask or think [infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, hopes, or dreams]- to Him be the glory! (Ephesians 3:16-21).

No matter what we do (or do not do), we will experience storms in this world. We do get to choose whether or not we will just brace ourselves merely to survive the affront or whether we will press in to experience God's presence and power. For goodness sake, if we have to go through them anyway, please let there be lightening inside the eyewall!


                                   "No pressure is greater than God's power."
                                                      Charles R. Swindoll

*** Please pray for the people in the path of Hurricane Matthew