Message summary: Today, we encourage you to consider God's wonders. His wonders abound surrounding us night and day. And then hear this important reminder from Elihu; "Remember to extol His work, which men have praised in song" (Job 36:24).

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"Stop and consider God's wonders" (Job 37:14).

Yesterday was the first day of summer and the longest day of the year in terms of daylight. It didn't get dark till after 9:00 PM when we sat out on our front porch to watch a predictable summer spectacle, the nightly firefly show.

During this season the fireflies appear each night like tiny twinkling Christmas lights flashing all across our lawn and in the cornfield beyond the road. I sure wish I could capture it in a picture and share it with you. It's a stunning scene.

The firefly is a bioluminescent insect, scientifically known as Pyractomena borealis. It sure is an interesting creature and we marvel as a family observing this special creation of God.

Hopefully you've all caught fireflies and held them in your hand at some point in your life. They have a very distinct odor, which I can still remember from playing with them as a child (we called them lightning bugs in Missouri and Oklahoma). It's not necessarily an unpleasant odor but it is distinct and is believed to be from defensive chemicals the fireflies secrete to deter predators. Birds, spiders and lizards have learned that fireflies will make them sick, so they leave them alone!

A firefly is not hot or even warm to the touch.  Amazingly nearly 100% of a firefly's luminescent energy is converted to light.  As you might expect, the light has a "romantic" purpose.

During Job's trial he had four human "comforters" or friends. Elihu, who was younger, spoke after the three older friends. His viewpoint on Job's suffering is surely not the final one, and like all human perspectives on this mysterious subject, it is flawed and incomplete. (God has the final word later in the book.) But Elihu makes some interesting points in trying to minister to Job that we believe are very helpful, particularly at the end of his discourse where he points to God's creative wonders.

He urges Job to "Stop and consider God's wonders".  That's a good exercise in getting a proper perspective on any matter. A few verses earlier Elihu declared, "How great is God--beyond our understanding!" (36:26).

How can you explain the firefly using an evolutionary model? Surely it's been attempted and various theories have been postulated. Believing these theories is like taking a leap in the dark but it's the only available option for those who have rejected the Biblical Creator. The firefly is just one of scores of God's wonders.

Today, we encourage you to consider God's wonders. His wonders abound surrounding us night and day. And then hear this important reminder from Elihu; "Remember to extol His work, which men have praised in song" (Job 36:24).


Be encouraged today,


Stephen & Brooksyne Weber

Daily prayer: Father, we do extol Your work and praise You with our lips, with our voice and with our devotion to follow You all the days of our life. We stop and consider Your great wonders and mighty works as we acknowledge You to be the Creator of all things. Your ways are perfect and beyond human understanding. It is all the more reason why we must rely on Your guidance and not lean on our own understanding. Today we acknowledge You in all our ways and ask You to direct our paths and increase our understanding in the name of Jesus. Amen.

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