Surviving a lightning bolt

A bolt can measure three times hotter than the surface of the sun, yet a man can survive a strike.

Jerry LaDoux got knocked 20 feet away when he was hit in August 1999 and went unconscious for half an hour. His two-way radio had exploded and teeth shattered. A medical tag around his neck melted.

Survivor Jerry LaDoux

When lightning lets a man live, it tampers with his nervous system, much like a shock can alter the software on a computer. LaDoux experienced short-term memory loss. Others suffer tremors, mini-seizures and sleep disorders. As many as 1,000 become lightning survivors each year; 67 die.

Far greater power surges through you when you pray. So it’s no wonder Samson‘s dad, upon seeing the Lord, feared: “We shall surely die, because we have seen God” — Judges 13:22 KJV.

When you pray, you’re harnessing tremendous power — more than a mere thunderbolt! The only way you can lessen that power is by limiting your faith. While in the Old Testament, it was a fearful thing to come into contact with the Supreme Being, the New Testament encourages us without fear to “boldly enter heaven’s Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus” — Heb. 10:19 NLT.

We ought to realize the power available to us. We ought to make use of it. When His power pass through you, it will alter you (for the good, of course!).

** Thanks to Slate for the article on lightning strike survivors. The international conference of lightning-strike and electric-shock survivors provides support for survivors.