The
voice of the Lord is upon the waters.
The glory of the Lord thunders.
The Lord is over many waters.
(vs. 3)
I have sat on a hot summer day beneath a large
waterfall in Oklahoma. Sweat was pouring
down my face after having run a couple of miles in the humid heat of the Midwest,
and the soothing cold of the gushing water on my head was magical. With me were my husband and children, but
trying to speak with them while inside of the water’s rushing was
impossible. All conversation was
suspended while the colliding water around us continued. So, it was of this small waterfall I thought
when I read this verse. And of Niagara
Falls. A huge fount of descending water
that crashes so powerfully to its destination it can be heard well before it is
seen.
John, on the Isle of Patmos, saw the risen Jesus in a
revelation of things to come. There he
heard the voice of Jesus and described it this way: I was
in the Spirit on the Lord’s day and I heard from behind me a loud voice, like
the sound of many waters. (Rev. 1:10) I have often tried to imagine what that
sounds like. Words – language – rushing forward
– loud, slightly echoing, as though the mighty waterfall is talking instead of
only moving noisily on its course. The
words coming loud so as to be heard over the other humming and crashing and
splashing. Words. Maybe not common in heaven. Another language spoken there that does not
need them. Controlling the power that is
wordless, language that is unnecessary, trying to relate on a lower level to
humans not yet accustomed to simply understanding the electricity that is
heaven. Jesus controlled Himself in
order to deign once again to speak as a man.
Had he not, John’s eardrums might have burst or Patmos imploded. Restrained power focused only on delivering a
message in words.
Immediately
I was in the Spirit and, look, a throne was set in heaven and there was One
sitting on the throne. And He Who was
sitting upon the throne was like a jasper stone and appeared as a halo. And there was a rainbow around the throne
that was emerald colored…and from the throne proceed flashes of lightning and peals of thunder. (Rev. 4)
Heaven clearly vibrates with power. An electricity unrestrained there, as it is
intrinsic to the place. Bound here on
earth, for as the Lord had the power to fling stars, form mountains, speak
waters and create humans, He also has the power to crush it all in a moment
should He choose. He must step lightly
when He comes for His footfall is powerful enough to puncture the fragile earth
He made.
But often when He speaks to lowly man, the creation
of his heart, He is subdued. Elijah
stood on the mountain waiting to hear from His God. First a strong wind came passing by that tore
at the mountain, breaking it into pieces, but the Lord was not in the
wind. Then came a mighty earthquake, but
He was not there either. Fire followed,
devoid of the Lord. All of this was
followed by a gentle blowing, a still small voice. God reduced to man so man would not be
afraid. Vulnerable with us so we would
be vulnerable with Him. Be still and know that I am God. (God)
One day we will know what His voice sounds like,
unrestrained and surging with the energy of heaven. As His light is the light of heaven, so His
voice is the thundering of its confines.
I think heaven is really loud!
All-Power exists there, thrumming and humming and drumming in His land
of living water, trees, mansions and angels.
And us. Made like Him.
And
after this I heard, as it were, a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven
saying, “Hallelujah! Salvation and glory
and power belong to our God because His judgments are true and right”…and a
voice came from the throne saying, “Give praise to our God all you who fear Him
great and small!”
Then
I heard the voice of a great multitude and as the sound of many waters and as the sound of might peals of thunder, saying, “Hallelujah!
For the Lord our God, the
Almighty, reigns!”
Looks like one day we will speak His language.
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