Master of All Elements
The first verse of Anna Daisy’s poem pictures to me, a small girl in the middle of Kansas wheat country, experiencing a menacing thunderstorm.
In awe I see. Your magic fire
Rip jagged streaks through
churning clouds
That split the sky and shatter trees
Like vivid* exclamation points.
I continue to read this poem remembering the words in Genesis 1. “The earth was formless and empty, and darkness covered the deep waters. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the seas.” Genesis 1:2-3. Then follows – “God said” and “it was good!” He created all the laws to make the rains come, and the clouds form, the winds blow, fires come forth. He created all the elements on earth, including fire, lightning, thunder, the wind, plus chemicals and precious stones. He made the sun, the moon, and the stars as lights.
The verses in Job 28:25-28 astound me. “He decided how hard the winds should blow and how much rain should fall. He made the laws for the rain and laid out a path for the lightning. Then he saw wisdom and evaluated it. He set it in place and examined it thoroughly. And this is what he says to all humanity: ‘The fear of the Lord is true wisdom; to forsake evil is real understanding.’”
Colossians 1:15-16 – “Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation, for through him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can’t see—such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world. Everything was created through Him and for Him.”
When we walk in this world, Jesus Christ is our companion. He makes everything we see and cannot see. We breathe the air He breathes into our lungs. He is the Master of our world.
Even as we cannot see wind, but we know the results. We cannot hold love in our hands, except through the beauty around us, in a smile, in a gentle rain, and in acts of selfless kindness for others.
Have you ever stood before a perfectly shaped shade tree, a cascading waterfall, or a newborn baby, and be unable to catch your breath? The lyrics, “I stand in awe of You – Christ the Way, the Life and the Truth,” come to my mind. (Phil Wickham).
We endure extremes of drought, heat, record-breaking cold, To Whom do we turn? The Ultimate Authority in all matters on earth and the Heavens. He controls all things. We learn to listen for His Voice and Trust Him in all things and begin to live freely in His will. His Way becomes our greatest desire with every breath we take.
The elements speak to us when we walk through life with Jesus. The burning bush spoke to Moses, Jesus quieted the stormy wind on the sea, the lions would not attack Daniel, Abraham’s arm was arrested in midair as he prepared to sacrifice his son, Noah built an ark saving his family from the flood as God commanded. Even today the ‘rainbow promise’ appears in the sky.
God raised Jesus from the dead and He was taken away by the clouds into Heaven. It is when we bow down before our Lord God, and worship Him, and we are wrapped in God’s rainbow promise of love.
Thanks, Mom, for this poem which teaches me about God’s Great and Lasting Love through Jesus Christ.
Master of All Elements
In awe, I see your magic fire
Rip jagged streaks through churning clouds
That split the sky and shatter trees
Like vivid exclamation points.
I cower when your frozen rain is hurled to
Earth in vented rage
To strip green leaves from shrub and field
And harvest corn before it is ripe.
From the cave, I hear gigantic winds
Rake grasping claws across the land
To leave a jumbled disarray
Of broken dreams and tested faith.
I hug warm fires when drifting snows
Choke every lane and thoroughfare,
Creating winter wonderlands
To hide the somber browns of the earth.
Yes, Master of all elements,
I recognize your might. But, Lord,
Just shower me with gentle rains
And wrap me in your rainbow love.
Anna Daisy Siemens
*original word by author ‘livid’
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