Are you Listening?

At this my heart pounds and leaps from its place.

Listen! Listen to the roar of his voice, to the rumbling that comes from his mouth.

He unleashes his lightning beneath the whole heaven and sends it to the ends of the earth.

After that comes the sound of the his roar; he thunders with his majestic voice.

When his voice resounds, he holds nothing back.

God's voice thunders in marvelous ways; he does great things beyond our understanding.

He says to the snow, "fall on the earth," and to the rain shower, "Be a mighty downpour."

So that all men he has made may know his work, he stops every man from his labor.

The animals take cover; they remain in their dens.

The tempest comes out from its chamber, the cold from the driving winds.

The breath of God produces ice, and the broad waters become frozen.

He loads the clouds with moisture, he scatters his lightning through them.

At his direction they swirl around over the face of the whole earth to do whatever he commands them.

He brings the clouds to punish men, or to water his earth and show his love.

Listen to this Job; stop and consider God's wonders.

-Job 37:1-14

This past week I discovered how much I do not necessarily appreciate reading through the book of Job. Its an awesome story of faithfulness and trusting God in uncertainty, but after 30+ chapters of Job and his three friends debating the source of his suffering and repeating their arguments, I was definitely ready to move on to the next chapter in my study. This passage, though, was one that really stuck out to me, and I was left rather awestruck at Elihu's speech to begin chapter 37.

Everything Elihu says to describe the majesty and glory of God brings him such pure delight: At this my heart pounds and leaps from its place! His wonder and joy for the Lord overwhelms him, and then overflows to those around him. "Listen!" he urges, "Listen to the roar of his voice, to the rumbling that come from His mouth." He launches into a fervent dialogue identifying example after example of tangible, earthy examples of God's power. Elihu's passion for this subject practically leaps off the page as he pleads with Job to really listen to what he has said:

Listen to this Job; stop and consider God's wonders. His ardor for the subject is so evident I can just imagine him taking hold of Job's shoulders to look him in the eye. "Are you listening, Job? I mean, really listening? Can you even begin to comprehend such glory?"

This kind of passionate response to God's marvelous glory is so often lacking in my understanding of God. Its easy to worship God for the wonderful things He has done for me, but His inherent praise-worthiness beings simply with who he is, the awesome and powerful creator of the world and of us. Yet how often do I emanate uncontainable praise for my Lord for this reason? Certainly not often enough.