The God of Glory Thunders
by Amy Tromba on August 3, 2026
This summer, my husband and I recently relocated back to Florida after being stationed here by the Air Force over 15 years ago. I was dreading the summer heat and humidity. In Florida, average summer temperatures reach the high nineties, and with the tropical humidity, the heat index can easily push temperatures to feel like 110°F.
Walking to the car, my skin often feels like it’s burning, and it’s difficult to catch my breath since the high humidity causes the airways in my lungs to narrow. And don’t get me started on what it does to my hair. It’s like walking into a sauna fully clothed, and my hair decides to take a droopy nap on my shoulders.
Despite these challenges, I forgot how amazing it is to experience the summer afternoon thunderstorms of the South. The back-and-forth conversation between lightning and thunder is a front row seat to God’s fireworks display from heaven.
A simplified, scientific explanation for these quick storms is that during the day, the sun heats up the air near the ground. This warmer air rises like a hot air balloon, and once it cools down, clouds begin to form. Electrical charges start building up in the cloud, and when the difference in charge becomes too great, the air’s barrier breaks down, resulting in a rapid, visible discharge of electricity, which we call lightning.
As the bolt of lightning strikes, it momentarily heats the air around it to 54,000°F, which is five times hotter than the sun. This sudden, intense heat causes the air to explosively expand, causing the shockwave we hear as thunder. Since light travels faster than sound, we see the lightning before we hear the thunder.
I remember as a child my mom teaching me to count the time between the lightning strike and the sound of the thunder to help me determine the distance of the storm. To minimize my fear, she would say, “Well, God is rearranging his furniture again” or “Listen to God bowling strikes.”
As easy as it is to explain this phenomenon with science or folklore, I enjoy turning to Scripture:
Who has cleft a channel for the torrents of rain and a way for the thunderbolt? Job 38:25
Praise the LORD! He it is who makes the clouds rise at the end of the earth, who makes lightnings for the rain and brings forth the wind from his storehouses. Psalm 135:1,7
He covers his hands with the lightning and commands it to strike the mark. It’s crashing declares His presence… Job 36:32-33
…the God of glory thunders…the voice of the LORD is powerful; the voice of the LORD is full of majesty. The voice of the LORD flashes forth flames of fire. Psalm 29:3-4,7
And what is our response?
Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name; worship the LORD in the splendor of holiness. Psalm 29:2
Imagine what joy it brings God’s heart when the Created pauses long enough to experience the wonder of the Creator in His full glory of creation, worshiping Him void of words, with a quiet spirit of humility and awe, filled with joy in the splendor of His holiness.
Worshiping God in this manner far outweighs the inconvenience of braving sweltering heat and humidity or dealing with a droopy hairstyle.