wild God

"Who hath ascended up into heaven, or descended? who hath gathered the wind in his fists? who hath bound the waters in a garment? who hath established all the ends of the earth? what is his name, and what is his son's name, if thou canst tell?"

Proverbs 30:4

Two nights ago I was sitting on our front porch. The sky had been blue all day, but as evening came in, dark clouds gathered quickly. A wind began to blow, whipping up the waves on the river at the end of our street. Lightning flashed overhead. Moments before we had lived on a calm city street, watching a few cars drive by, everything ordered and safe. Now the forces of nature invaded, making the world wild around us.

The Bible often talks about the glory of God in storms. Solomon wrote of it in Psalm 30. His words remind me of Psalm 18's powerful depiction of God riding in a storm, coming to save David from his enemies:

"He bowed the heavens also, and came down: and darkness was under his feet. And he rode upon a cherub, and did fly: yea, he did fly upon the wings of the wind.

He made darkness his secret place; his pavilion round about him were dark waters and thick clouds of the skies. At the brightness that was before him his thick clouds passed, hail stones and coals of fire.

The LORD also thundered in the heavens, and the Highest gave his voice; hail stones and coals of fire. Yea, he sent out his arrows, and scattered them; and he shot out lightnings, and discomfited them. Then the channels of waters were seen, and the foundations of the world were discovered at thy rebuke, O LORD, at the blast of the breath of thy nostrils.

He sent from above, he took me, he drew me out of many waters. He delivered me from my strong enemy, and from them which hated me: for they were too strong for me."

Day by day, we build little theological constructs that are much like our city street: quiet, ordered, easy for us to grasp. But then the reality of God comes like a storm, the Spirit like a mighty wind, and in the storm of His presence we're forced to worship the wild God whose power and glory are more than we can imagine.

C.S. Lewis wrote of Aslan, the picture of Jesus, that he "is not a Tame Lion." Nor is our Saviour one to be bound by small human bands. He is trustworthy, unchanging, solid as a rock--and wonderfully, beautifully wild.