To Heed or to Hide

UV 1601/10000 To Heed or to Hide?
He causeth it to come, whether for correction, or for his land, or for mercy.
Job 37 v 13

For the past three weeks it has been pouring in Chennai incessantly, filling up all the lakes around, leading to a lot of water being released from the floodgates, causing the normally dry tributaries and trickling river to suddenly fill up and overflow the banks, flooding streets, main roads, highways and houses. A prophet had told us a few weeks before it all happened that Chennai would soon resemble the abutting sea. We scarcely believed that it was possible. Several troughs of depression in the Bay of Bengal brought continuous downpour leading to the present predicament. Power supply gets interrupted, people are marooned in the upper floors of their own homes, the telephones and net are no longer working as it used to. The airport is cut off. Trains are cancelled. The answer for why did it happen or why did the Lord allow it to happen or cause it to happen lies in the uni-verse above. He causes it for correction, to bless as well as to demonstrate His goodness and mercy. Indeed, God speaks through nature at all times and when we don't seem to care or listen, He begins to speak a little louder and we are compelled to sit up and notice.

As Job says, “The thunder is like the rumbling from the mouth of the Lord.” He unleashes the lightning under the whole heaven. His voice is majestic and awesome like the sound of many waters. He does great things beyond human understanding or scientific comprehension. He can stop us from labouring or working in our tracks. He loads the clouds with moisture and tells the rain, “Be a mighty downpour” so that people will notice and listen. He commands the clouds to swirl around and move in whatever direction He wills over the face of the whole earth to do whatever He commands it. We need to stop, stand still and consider the wonders done by the Lord, His awesome power and His gracious mercy. We need to be thankful when He sends us showers of blessing in proportion to our need and keep our inordinate greed in check. In our ignorance we are excited on finding a molecule of moisture on the surface of the moon or the neighbouring planets but we ignore the fact that He provides us sufficient food and drink, comfort of shelter and refuge as well as the intellect and means to discover the benefits and inventions of technology.

The Lord can hide the glorious sun behind dark clouds for as long as He pleases. We should not take for granted His daily mercies in sending the bright sun to shine upon us or complain of too much heat on a hot summer day. The Lord Almighty is beyond our reach and yet He has inclined His ear to our prayers. He does look upon the wise in heart of every realm and place with love and affection. He holds them in high esteem as a man considers his bosom friends. Will we take it all in our stride and assume that it all happened as a freak or accident of nature? Will we forget the message the Lord is sending us and return to our humdrum routine of business as usual? Will we find time and room to listen to the Lord on a regular, continuous and daily basis? Will we take the small clues He sends our way as warnings and be sensitive and wise enough to heed them rather than hide them or hide from them? We can surely find a covert or shelter from the storm but can we hide from the anger of the Lord? Is it not best to seek and find His mercy and grace while we can?

Prateep V Philip