New Creation Ministries
The hare and the tortoise again: In the rematch, the tortoise realized that it could never beat the hare again in the same format of the race. So, he called the hare for a race again, but on a different route. By the earlier success, the hare now had become more confident that it could beat the tortoise in any terrain.
The race started. The hare ran fast and consistently, without any break. It was leading the race by many miles until it came upon a broad river. The finish line was a mile away from the other side of the river. But the hare could not swim.
Meanwhile, the slow and steady tortoise reached the river after some time and swam through the river with no problem. It reached the finish line, steadily moving forward. The hare was beaten again! Shocks, said the hare, he got me again (Yuantai Liu).
By the end of the race, the two animals had become great friends and planned to race as a team the next time. This time, they plan to race as a relay team in a triathlon, where the strength of the hare could be used on land and the advantage of the tortoise could be used in the water.
Appropriate measure for the situation.
The idea of appropriate measure for the appropriate situation is something that God himself implemented in creation. He worked six days to create the great expanse that we call the universe. And yet, even though he is the all-powerful God, he rested. He created the physical biology of the human body, but to make it complete he added a soul.
God exist in balance: he added light to darkness, day to night, land to water, animals that creep and those that fly. Ultimately, the God who created light that travels 186 thousand miles per second, is the same God that created the snail which takes a day and a half to travel one mile. It’s a reminder that God’s creation is vast, and that every part, whether bold or quiet, has a divine purpose.
In Revelation chapter 6, John says “I watched as he opened the sixth seal. There was a great earthquake. The sun turned black like sackcloth made of goat hair, the whole moon turned blood red, and the stars in the sky fell to earth, as figs drop from a fig tree when shaken by a strong wind. The heavens receded like a scroll being rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place.”
In contrast, in 1 Kings 19, “And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice.”
In Revelation, God came in the earthquake and that was dramatic, the sun took cover, the light of the moon crumbled, trees drop their fruits, the stars fell, the sky rolled back like a scroll; even islands moved out of their places; but in Elijah’s situation, he came in a whisper. The point is He created each thing for its time and season.
In the same way all things in your life will come at the right time, at the most appropriate season, if you are obedient and love him. He says all things work together to them that love the Lord. Storm and pestilence; the tempest and the calm stream, all have their place in the lives of people who serve and trust God.
The God of lightning.
God can be dramatic when he wants to be. His drama can also instill fear:
Ex. 20:18-19, Now all the people witnessed the thundering, the lightning flashes, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking; and when the people saw it, they trembled and stood afar off. Then they said to Moses, “You speak with us, and we will hear; but let not God speak with us, lest we die.”
To understand this drastic approach to correction that God deployed, you must know the back story:
After 400 years in Egypt, the Israelites were on the move out of slavery. We picked up the Journey at the Red Sea. By the hands of God, Israel has escaped the approaching mighty armies of Pharoah as they walked on dry land through the parted Red Sea. They were so jubilant that they sang a new song: “I will sing to the Lord, For He has triumphed gloriously! The horse and its rider he has thrown into the sea! The Lord is my strength and song, And He has become my salvation.
That is what they sang in Exodus chapter 15. By the time you get to chapter 16, they are already complaining to Moses about food. They began to wish that they were back in Egypt and wished that they had died there instead. The whole time forgetting that the same God who could part an ocean should, at the very least, be able to bake bread or provide some mangoes – give him some credit. So, God heard from above and rained bread from heaven to satisfy their hunger. Not too much later in chapter 17, they are complaining to Moses about water. God brings water out of a rock. But did they stop complaining? No. It is after all these events that he decided to speak to Israel directly.
The God of lightning will show in times when we are stiff-necked. He will show up when he has been kind over and over again. The lighting God will show when we keep breaking promises to him.
When Moses spoke for God, the people responded, “all that the Lord said, we will do”. But a day later, they were living the same old way. How many times has God been kind to us, merciful when we did not deserve it, sent miracles our way, but as soon as we are back on our feet, God becomes a distant memory? It is in those moments that the God of Lightning could appear – to correct, redirect and to reestablish control.
Valuing the God of Snails.
While He is The God of lightning, the Bible says God is slow to anger.
Ps. 103:8: The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. 2 Peter 2:9: The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.
His slowness is not the same as tardiness. When he is slow, God is deliberately slow for a purpose. He was slow to come to Elijah, but the food was on time. He was slow with the Hebrew boys facing the fiery furnace. They got thrown in the heat, but the extinguisher was already in the fire. He was slow to save Lazarus from death – four days late, but he came with Lazarus new life in his hand. When the devil thought that God was too slow to save Jesus on Friday, Jehovah God was already waiting at Joseph’s tomb for Sunday morning. If you love God, if you trust him, and you serve him, though he may be slow as a tortoise, or slothful as a snail, he will be right on time.
They that wait on the Lord shall renew their strength. They will mount up with wings like an eagle, they run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint. Isaiah says, “wait I say on the Lord.”
Accepting the God of Both lightning and Snails.
Sometimes we look for a big flashy God, the one who cures cancer, the one who saves that child from the burning building, or the one who rescues from the Lions’ den. But the God we should look for is the everyday God – the one who provides the mundane things of life. If you learn to thank God for the little things, it would be easy to praise him for the bigger things. Most times we look to testify of the dramatic God. However, the God who provides when you are in desperation, is also the one who sustains simple everyday life.