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"Stand still and consider the wondrous works of God" (Job 37:14).

Yesterday was the first day of meteorological summer, a season running from June through August which is distinct from astrological summer.* As it started to get dark I was sitting on the rocking chair on our front porch when I saw the first firefly of the season. Through the summer these bioluminescent insects, scientifically known as Pyractomena borealis, will provide us nightly twinkling light shows at absolutely no cost.

Growing up we called them lightning bugs, other regions refer to them as fireflies.

Two boys from the city were out in the country on their very first camping trip. That night the mosquitoes were biting so badly that the boys tried to hide in their sleeping bags to keep from being devoured. When they saw some lightning bugs, one boy said to the other, "We might as well give up, they're coming at us with flashlights!"

As the season progresses and their numbers increase 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.

Hopefully you've all caught fireflies and held them in your hand at some point in your life. They have a scent which I can still identify from playing with them as a child. It's not necessarily unpleasant but it is distinct and 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!

Wouldn't it be nice if humans were equipped with organic defensive chemicals that would deter mosquitoes and flies? It would certainly making eating around the picnic table a lot more pleasurable.

A firefly is not hot or even warm to the touch.  Amazingly nearly 100% of a firefly's luminescent energy is converted to light, sort of like an LED.  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 "Stand still and consider the wondrous works of God". 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 do you understand the origin of the firefly using an evolutionary model? Surely it's been attempted and various theories have been postulated. But these theories are like taking a leap in the dark yet it is the only available option for those who have rejected the Biblical Creator. The firefly is just one of scores of "the wondrous works" created by God.

Today, we encourage you to consider God's wondrous works that abound, surrounding us day and night. 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, Hebrews 3:13.

Stephen & Brooksyne Weber