Thunderstorms

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James 1:2-4 (NIV): Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

What it is speaking to me:

We have been in a season of thunderstorms, and I don't mean figuratively. I mean literally, there have been a lot of storms. And somewhat fairly they have a cloudy reputation (see what I did there) because they can be quite destructive. Lightning hits trees, houses, and people. And the wind and rain batter down trees and do all sorts of other damage. Other than the obvious needed rainfall they bring, I was curious if there were other actually positive contributions that thunderstorms bring. Turns out, there are MANY.

Here are just a few of several things they do:

1. Lightning heat splits atmospheric nitrogen so it combines with oxygen, falling as nitrates in rain and acting as a natural fertilizer that supplies roughly 10 percent of the nitrogen crops need.

2. Lightning generates reactive compounds that break down pollutants like carbon monoxide and methane, boosting the atmosphere’s self-cleansing ability.

3. UV protection: lightning-generated ozone contributes to the upper atmospheric layer that shields Earth from harmful UV rays.

4. Electrical balance: lightning transfers negative charge back to Earth’s surface, maintaining the global electrical circuit that would otherwise collapse within about five minutes.

   
   

A lot more than I thought.

Maybe you’re in a stormy season too...figuratively this time. Job loss, a hard diagnosis, a relationship falling apart, take your pick. And like a real thunderstorm, it probably feels mostly destructive right now.

But here’s the thing James is speaking to me, and hopefully you: the storm is doing something you can’t see yet. Just like lightning is not-so-quietly putting nitrogen into the soil while you’re busy worrying about the tree branch that just came down, God is producing perseverance in you while you’re busy worrying about whatever’s crashing around in your life.

The storm isn’t wasted.

It’s fertilizing something.

You.

What is it saying to you?

What’s actually being produced in you right now?What seems like it is getting destroyed?But also, what is being built?

What are we going to do about it?

Write down one specific trial you’re in the middle of and one specific way you’ve already grown because of it, not despite it. Also write down one thing you would like to see grown in you because of it.