Last week, in Written on the Heart, Part 6, we understand that God gives us the Light we need to reflect Jesus and learn His lifestyle. He gives it to us through the Word. But we must then choose to walk in it.
Does God desire us to do just that?
We had a severe flash of lightning that took out all our electronic communication equipment. The technician said he had never seen a strike as bad and he was amazed nothing else was damaged and nobody was hurt. He also said he was sure everything on our computer was gone and all our equipment would need to be replaced.
I dreaded the loss of writings I share with others as we search more of what Scripture reveals, and many of my thoughts were still “works in progress.” Now, apparently, they were gone. But it was one lightning strike that actually struck three times.
It reminded me of Job and then back to the Garden when Satan replaced Adam and Eve as representatives of God on the earth. They broke God’s law that was written on their hearts when they obeyed another voice above God’s.
They actually obeyed Satan who spoke through the serpent. The serpent allowed it and was denuded of his beauty (Genesis 3:1 and Genesis 3:14). Adam and Eve allowed it and were stripped of the light of God (Genesis 3:7), that emanated through them and clothed them.
From that time, Satan represented mankind on this earth.
Now, at a meeting with God, Satan said he had been over the earth from end to end, and God mentioned Job was a righteous man, reminding Satan that God still has ultimate authority.
“Skin for skin” (Job 2:4) scoffed Satan and challenged God to let him prove Job was not as worthy as he seemed. God agreed and Satan stripped Job of children and external wealth, but still Job worshipped God.
So then God allowed Satan to cover Job with extremely painful boils, head to foot. Still Job worshipped God.
During the next thirty or more chapters, we have Job’s friends preaching “do-goodism” and righteousness by works. Finally God reprimanded them, “you have not spoken as you ought about me” (Job 41:7), and God commended Job.
From the beginning of Job’s saga, God and Satan were not playing games, God was letting us know that Satan has certain authority in this world and we must be alert to it. Job teaches us that troubles indicate whether we truly worship God through all that Satan can throw at us.
So we looked at the lightning strike anew. And yes, some of our equipment needed to be replaced and some needed repairs. When it was done, we were amazed that none of our information was lost, everything we valued was still there.
We do not question who caused the lightning strike and the damage done.
Neither do we question who took care of us through it because, whatever happens in this life, God does not desert us. God used the lightning for His purpose, “For God has said, ‘I will never leave you or desert you,'” (Romans 13:5). He showed us that there were three strikes from the one lightening. One, it took out our communication; two, it opened God’s communication to us through Job; and three, it opened God communication to us from the Garden.
The importance of God’s light was not lost. Through the lightening, He made his thoughts known to us and wrote them on our minds and hearts, and the importance of God’s light in the lightning was not lost to us. His very first words were “Let there be light,” (Genesis 1:3) and it made His thoughts known. Then He wrote the light of His thoughts into us when He made us in His image. Much later, as our light grew dim, He wrote the light of His thoughts on stone and in His Word for us.
Wherever we are, God longs for you and me to share the light of His thoughts; thoughts that He is writing on our hearts and minds. He longs for that relationship He had with us at the beginning so He gives us the light we need, and He repeats Himself in varying ways!
Elizabeth Price
(To access the entire “Written on the Heart” mini-series, please click here.)