"The Secret Place Of Thunder"

When a storm arrives over El Paso, as it did this morning, thunder rolls across the Franklin Mountains crashing and echoing through the peaks and canyons, shaking the ground with deafening sounds like sonic booms. This display of God's power, causes me to stand in utter awe and amazement.

The storms we experience reminds me of "the secret place of thunder” from which God answered His people (Psalm 81:7; cf. Exodus 19:19). As Israel cried out from the straw pits and brick kilns of Egypt, God’s salvation rolled over the land in resounding claps of thunder (Exodus 9:13-34).

Psalm 77:16-20,  speaks of the storm that overshadowed Israel as they passed through the Red Sea. Its thunder spelled doom for the Egyptians but deliverance to God’s people. Each resounding clap was the comforting voice of a Father speaking to His children.

When Jesus foretold His death in John 12:28-29, He called on His Father to glorify His name. A voice answered from heaven saying, “I have both glorified it and will glorify it again.” To the crowd, it sounded like thunder.

Are we in trouble? If we are, we need to cry out to God in our sorrow and distress (cf. Exodus 2:23; Numbers 20:16; 1 Samuel 12:10-11; 2 Samuel 22:7; Psalm 18:6; Psalm 107:1-6; Jonah 2:1-2).

We may not physically hear God’s thunder roll, but it will reverberate through the heavens once again as He answers us in “the secret place of thunder.” Our ever faithful God will provide comfort to our heart and deliver us from our fears (2 Corinthians 1:3-4; Psalm 18:46-50).

—Mike Riley, Gospel Snippets