God's Power is Like Electricity

Last spring semester at community college I took a class on the basics of electricity, and God showed me another example of Godly principals at work in nature. We were learning about conductors and insulators (conductors are substances that allow electricity to flow through them, while insulators are substances that don’t allow electricity to flow through them). We were learning about what happens on the atomic level when electricity flows through something and the Lord showed me that there are also Godly principles at work in the behavior of electricity.

Electricity is made up of free electrons, electrons that are not attached to an atom. When electricity flows through a conductor such as a copper wire the free electrons bump into a copper atom that is part of the copper wire and knock the copper atom’s own electrons out of the copper atom. These newly freed electrons then slam into the adjacent copper atoms in the wire, knocking their electrons out of the copper atoms and electricity flows through the copper wire in one big chain reaction, like a set of dominoes.

In the class we were learning about the differences between conductors and insulators on the atomic level. An insulator (such as plastic, rubber, or glass) which does not conduct electricity holds onto it’s electrons very tightly and keeps them close to the nucleus. It won’t let go of it’s electrons and if electricity tries to flow through it the flow will come to the insulator and stop since the free electrons can’t knock the insulator’s electrons out of orbit from their nucleus. On the other hand, a conductor (copper, aluminum, gold, silver, water, etc) which does conduct electricity does not hold onto it’s electrons tightly and they are further from the nucleus than with an insulator. It easily lets go of it’s electrons and if electricity tries to flow through it the free electrons will knock the conductor’s electrons out of orbit from their nucleus and electricity will flow to the next atoms.

God showed me that His power functions much like electricity. If we are like an insulator and are selfish and won’t let go of our “electrons” and want to hoard them all for ourselves it stops the flow of God’s power. However if we are like a conductor and don’t hold on to everything we have and freely give our “electrons”, then like electricity God’s power will flow through us.

Another thing I learned is that interestingly enough the best conductor of electricity there is in the world is silver, which is exactly what God compares the nation of Israel to in Isaiah 1:22-23:

22 Thy silver is become dross, thy wine mixed with water: 23 Thy princes are rebellious, and companions of thieves: every one loveth gifts, and followeth after rewards: they judge not the fatherless, neither doth the cause of the widow come unto them.” –Isaiah 1:22-23

The Lord does it again in Ezekiel 22:22:

“As silver is melted in the midst of the furnace, so shall ye be melted in the midst thereof; and ye shall know that I the LORD have poured out my fury upon you.” –Ezekiel 22:22

In both cases the nation of Israel had rebelled against the Lord and were facing impending judgment. They had all become “dross” as the Lord said in Ezekiel 22:19:

“Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because ye are all become dross, behold, therefore I will gather you into the midst of Jerusalem.” –Ezekiel 22:19

And in Isaiah 1:22:

“22 Thy silver is become dross, thy wine mixed with water:” –Isaiah 1:22

I did some research on silver dross and it is made up of impurities in the metal. Because pure silver is the best conductor of electricity in the world, any foreign substances in the silver will lower it’s conductivity. The silver with impurities in it must be melted and purged of the dross and then it will conduct electricity better than it would have otherwise. This is exactly what the Lord figuratively said He would do to rebellious Israel in Isaiah 1:25

:

“24 Therefore saith the Lord, the LORD of hosts, the mighty One of Israel, Ah, I will ease Me of mine adversaries, and avenge Me of mine enemies: 25 And I will turn My hand upon thee, and purely purge away thy dross, and take away all thy tin: 26 And I will restore thy judges as at the first, and thy counselors as at the beginning: afterward thou shalt be called, The city of righteousness, the faithful city.” –Isaiah 1:24-26

God could have said gold or iron or tin or another metal, but being the creator of the elements He knew exactly what He was doing when He spoke these words to the Old Testament prophets. Nobody knew anything about electricity or conductivity or the properties of silver back in the days these books of the Bible were written, but God did!