Job 37:1-24

“At the sound of his thunder, my heart pounds as if it will jump out of my chest. Listen! Listen to the thunder of God’s voice and to the rumbling that comes from his mouth. He turns his lightning loose under the whole sky and sends it to the farthest parts of the earth. After that you can hear the roar when he thunders with a great sound. He does not hold back the flashing when his voice is heard. God’s voice thunders in wonderful ways; he does great things we cannot understand. He says to the snow, ‘Fall on the earth,’ and to the shower, ‘Be a heavy rain.’ With it, he stops everyone from working so everyone knows it is the work of God. The animals take cover from the rain and stay in their dens. The storm comes from where it was stored; the cold comes with the strong winds. The breath of God makes ice, and the wide waters become frozen. He fills the clouds with water and scatters his lightning through them. At his command they swirl around over the whole earth, doing whatever he commands. He uses the clouds to punish people or to water his earth and show his love. “Job, listen to this: Stop and notice God’s miracles. Do you know how God controls the clouds and makes his lightning flash? Do you know how the clouds hang in the sky? Do you know the miracles of God, who knows everything? You suffer in your clothes when the land is silenced by the hot, south wind. You cannot stretch out the sky like God and make it look as hard as polished bronze. Tell us what we should say to him; we cannot get our arguments ready because we do not have enough understanding. Should God be told that I want to speak? Would a person ask to be swallowed up? No one can look at the sun when it is bright in the sky after the wind has blown all the clouds away. God comes out of the north in golden light, in overwhelming greatness. The Almighty is too high for us to reach. He has great strength; he is always right and never punishes unfairly. That is why people honor him; he does not respect those who say they are wise.”