Last night I experienced something I missed while living overseas, the awesome power of Texas thunderstorms. It may sound strange, but I like hearing the thunder crashing at night, heavy rain coming down and the wind blowing, while I am safe in my bed. It sounds like a battle is raging just outside our house, but I am unharmed. Power is fascinating as long as it doesn’t hurt anyone. Nothing can stop thunderstorms from passing through south Texas, so I might as well enjoy the show.
A show of power can be terrifying. When a tsunami struck Indonesia and Thailand, it was a massive show of power. During a brief period, more than 200 thousand lives were lost and the property of millions more was destroyed. Videos of the massive waves wiping out everything in their paths was hard to comprehend, yet concealed much of the death and destruction they were causing. For days I looked for every bit of news I could find on the disaster. I didn’t personally know anyone affected, my interest was more of a fascination with the destructive power and how fragile life is.
I was living in Majuro, Marshall Islands when a massive earthquake and tsunami hit Japan. I watched as news reports showing huge walls of water sweeping across the land, breaching seawalls, causing death and destruction. It seemed surreal as cities awaited certain destruction. One minute they were homes and communities where people lived and worked. The next minute they were reminders of the awesome power of the ocean.
The Majuro atoll is only a few feet above sea-level and was in the path of those destructive waves. My “sea-wall” was a pile of rocks that fell over under the slightest pressure, but the waves passed us by with no damage. We were protected because the Marshall Islands are made of coral atolls that protected us from the powerful waves.
The power of sin is more destructive. You can’t resist the overwhelming power on your own. The power of sin can be deceptive as everything seems “normal” and then comes sudden destruction (1 Thes 5:3). It will sweep over your life, leaving only misery, despair and death behind. The loss is hard to comprehend and will lead to eternal damnation. That is the power of sin.
We can be saved from the power of sin because “God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16 NIV). JESUS died on the cross for our sins and “was raised on the third day” (1 Cor 15:4 NIV). The awesome power of His death and resurrection made a way for us to be saved from the power of sin, but you must accept His offer. He will be your shelter from the storm and a solid rock on which to stand.
Wayne Lance (2016)