I’m writing this devotional on February 19. Today was the first thunderstorm of the season, complete with a dazzling lightning show. I was driving in to the school for my bus route around 6:20 a.m. and the flash of light in the sky startled me. Before long, the skies flickered with brilliant shades of white, pink, and purple blended together. Then, horizontal bolts of lightning arced across the sky, punctuated by vertical bursts that looked like they touched the ground.
I love thunderstorms and lightning! The picture painted in the sky was more than could be captured by words and pictures combined. The very first thought I had in that moment is the devotional thought for today. Before I get to it, though, let’s allow science to give us the boring technical explanation of what causes thunder and lightning.
“Lightning begins as static charges in a rain cloud. Winds inside the cloud are very turbulent. Water droplets in the bottom part of the cloud are caught in the updrafts and lifted to great heights where the much colder atmosphere freezes them. Meanwhile, downdrafts in the cloud push ice and hail down from the top of the cloud. Where the ice going down meets the water coming up, electrons are stripped off.
“… what results is a cloud with a negatively charged bottom and a positively charged top. These electrical fields become incredibly strong, with the atmosphere acting as an insulator between them in the cloud.
“When the strength of the charge overpowers the insulating properties of the atmosphere, Z-Z-Z-ZAP! Lightning happens.
“The electric field … looks for the closest and easiest path to release its charge. Often lightning occurs between clouds or inside a cloud. But the lightning we usually care about most is the lightning that goes from clouds to ground—because that’s us!
“As the storm moves over the ground, the strong negative charge in the cloud attracts positive charges in the ground. These positive charges move up into the tallest objects like trees, telephone poles, and houses. A “stepped leader” of negative charge descends from the cloud seeking out a path toward the ground…
“As the negative charge gets close to the ground, a positive charge, called a streamer, reaches up to meet the negative charge. The channels connect and we see the lightning stroke. We may see several strokes using the same path, giving the lightning bolt a flickering appearance, before the electrical discharge is complete.
“What causes thunder? In a fraction of a second, lightning heats the air around it to incredible temperatures—as hot as 54,000 °F (30,000 °C). That’s five times hotter than the surface of the Sun!
“The heated air expands explosively, creating a shockwave as the surrounding air is rapidly compressed. The air then contracts rapidly as it cools. This creates an initial CRACK sound, followed by rumbles as the column of air continues to vibrate.”1
Okay, that’s not really boring. I find it absolutely fascinating. However, I know who made those laws of science that govern our universe. When I first saw the thunder and lightning, a song came to mind.
I sing the mighty pow’r of God, that made the mountains rise,
That spread the flowing seas abroad, and built the lofty skies.
I sing the wisdom that ordained the sun to rule the day;
The moon shines full at His command, and all the stars obey.
I sing the goodness of the Lord, who filled the earth with food,
Who formed the creatures through the Word, and then pronounced them good.
Lord, how Thy wonders are displayed, where’er I turn my eye,
If I survey the ground I tread, or gaze upon the sky.
There’s not a plant or flow’r below, but makes Thy glories known,
And clouds arise, and tempests blow, by order from Thy throne;
While all that borrows life from Thee is ever in Thy care;
And everywhere that we can be, Thou, God, art present there.
In one bolt of lightning, there are about 300 million volts and 30,000 amps. One single bolt of lightning contains approximately 5 billion joules of energy. That’s enough to power a house for a month!2, 3 And yet, that isn’t even a fraction of God’s power
Those thunderstorms with their booming thunder and cracks of lightning are a blessing, giving us just a tiny seasonal glimpse into the mighty power of God. I hope you can look at those storms with enthusiasm and awe of our amazing God.
Jeremiah 10:12-13 says, “He hath made the earth by his power, he hath established the world by his wisdom, and hath stretched out the heavens by his discretion. (13) When he uttereth his voice, there is a multitude of waters in the heavens, and he causeth the vapours to ascend from the ends of the earth; he maketh lightnings with rain, and bringeth forth the wind out of his treasures.”
1https://www.nesdis.noaa.gov/about/k-12-education/severe-weather/what-causes-lightning-and-thunder
2https://www.weather.gov/safety/lightning-power
3https://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/energy/harvest-energy-lightning.htm
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