Although it’s been a week of highs and lows for me personally, feeling the cool air warm and the thunder clouds pass has been a true blessing for everyone this week. Last weekend, many of us woke up to the booming sounds of thunder and crashing rain set off by lightning every few seconds (not an exciting sight for the people walking down at 5 am), sending awe and a little fear through those awake.
For me, this sight brought me straight back to my Old Testament classes last week teaching on the power of YHWH in the books of Genesis and Exodus. From the creation of all function and matter in the beginning to the ten plagues and columns of fire and clouds leading the Israelites out of Egypt, God has been displaying his power and glory since the beginning of time. Nothing was more powerful than realizing that He is the same God we still serve and see at work today.
The speaker this week, Sam Meier, also illuminated our minds to the powerful realities of God through teaching us about the names of God, the reality of the spiritual realm, and the mere breath that life is on earth. I can honestly say I’ve never seen so many people’s minds blown that many times in a week. After every speaker session (each night Monday through Wednesday and Thursday morning), we would just sit for a moment with our mouths open and our brains spinning from hearing things we’ve never heard before. My favorite moment was when we learned that there are more serpents (nahash in hebrew) and evil creatures in the Bible than just the Leviathan and the serpent in the Garden of Eden while seeing the whole room buzz with a frenzied excitement. If anyone has an extra hour to spare, I highly recommend watching the audio recordings of the lectures on the Joshua Wilderness YouTube channel. Let us know if your mind was blown too 🙂
To close off this week of ups and down, I took advantage of our weekly Thursday afternoon free periods to go down the hill and work on homework. Although I had the best of intentions, the draw of playing spike ball and sitting at the sunny picnic tables was too much for me to focus on procrastinateable homework. My mind was somewhere else most of the time (missing community, feeling burnt out, stress with a new season of life) and I decided to take a paddle board out on the lake for a time to reflect and be alone. As I made my way through the reeds on the north side of the lake, I noticed ducks diving into the water, baby spiders throwing out gossamer threads into the wind, and mossy swarms floating up from the bottom of the lake. Lit up by golden hour and the clear mountain air, the sight brought peace to my soul and I was able to finally feel ok with where I’m at. The final display of God’s power for me this week was a giant crane (ornithologists fact check me on that) swooping down right in front of me in a small cove hidden by the reeds. My breath was completely taken away and I knew that God was truly involved in that moment despite my struggles and doubts. It’s a beautiful thing that the Creator is present, despite the highs or the lows. He’s always been that way and he will continue to be. Glory be to YHWH Elohim.
– Ruth Viser (Current Student)
