When Saint Michael Gave the Thunder to Elijah
Fr. Scott Haynes
A Ukrainian Tradition of Spiritual Warfare
When thunder rolls across the Ukrainian countryside and lightning breaks through the darkness, an old Christian tradition gives the storm a meaning deeper than wind and rain. For generations, Ukrainian folk belief associated the great powers of the storm with two mighty servants of God: Saint Michael the Archangel and the holy Prophet Elijah.
A pious belief held in the hearts of the Ukrainian people tells us that Satan once possessed the thunder and sought to use its terrible power for evil. But Saint Michael, commander of the heavenly armies, overcame the adversary and took the thunder from him. The Archangel then entrusted this heavenly weapon to the Prophet Elijah. In some retellings, this tradition becomes associated with Mount Carmel, the mountain upon which Elijah confronted the prophets of Baal and summoned Israel to return to the worship of the one true God.
This is a pious folk tradition rather than an event recorded in Sacred Scripture. Yet beneath its dramatic imagery lies a profoundly Christian truth: the devil does not possess ultimate power. God does.
The Thunder Taken from the Enemy
There is something wonderfully consoling in the old Ukrainian image of Saint Michael taking thunder away from Satan.
The devil wishes to frighten. He wishes to convince us that his power is greater than it really is. Temptation often works precisely in this manner. Sin presents itself as irresistible. Fear appears overwhelming. Discouragement whispers that nothing can be changed. The adversary makes a great deal of noise.
But noise is not sovereignty.
Saint Michael stands before the rebellion of Satan with the proclamation contained in his very name: Michael,
“Who is like unto God?”
No one is like unto God.
Satan may rage, but he remains a creature. He may tempt, but he cannot compel the human will. He may threaten, but he cannot overturn the Providence of God. He may create confusion, but he cannot extinguish the light of Christ.
The old Ukrainian legend expresses this truth vividly. The weapon Satan believed to be his own is taken from his hands.
And then something even more remarkable happens. God permits the thunder to be placed at the service of His prophet.
Elijah Stands upon Carmel
Mount Carmel was a place of decision.
Israel had wandered into idolatry under King Achab and Queen Jezabel. The worship of Baal had spread through the kingdom, while the prophets of the Lord were persecuted. Elijah therefore gathered the people and confronted them with a question that reaches far beyond ancient Israel:
“How long do you halt between two sides? If the Lord be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him.” (3 Kings 18:21)
There could be no permanent compromise between the Lord and Baal.
Elijah prepared his sacrifice. The prophets of Baal cried out to their false god, but nothing happened. Then Elijah prayed.
And heaven answered.
“The fire of the Lord fell, and devoured the holocaust, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench.” (3 Kings 18:38)
The people fell upon their faces and cried:
“The Lord he is God, the Lord he is God.” (3 Kings 18:39)
Here the Ukrainian tradition finds its spiritual home. Saint Michael's battle against Satan and Elijah's battle against idolatry are two images of the same fundamental conflict: Who will be worshipped?
That is the question behind every spiritual battle.
The Battle Is Still Being Fought
Mount Carmel is not merely an ancient mountain. Spiritually speaking, every Christian eventually stands upon Carmel.
There comes a moment when we must decide whom we will serve. Our idols may no longer be statues of Baal, yet the human heart remains remarkably skilled at constructing altars. Money can become an altar. Reputation can become an altar. Pleasure, resentment, ambition, control, comfort, politics, possessions, or even our own opinions can quietly take the place that belongs to God alone.
Elijah's question therefore remains painfully relevant: How long will you halt between two sides? We cannot give God the outward appearance of devotion while secretly reserving some corner of the heart for an idol we refuse to surrender. The fire must fall there too.
Sometimes God allows a storm to enter our lives precisely because something within us needs to be purified. A disappointment exposes our pride. A failure reveals how much we depended upon human approval. An illness reminds us that earthly life is passing. A temptation shows us where we are weak. A loss teaches us that our treasure cannot finally be found in this world.
We naturally ask God to remove the storm. Sometimes He does. At other times He does something more mysterious: He takes the thunder and makes it serve His purposes.
God Can Turn the Enemy's Weapon Against Him
This may be the most beautiful spiritual lesson contained in the Ukrainian legend. Saint Michael does not merely destroy the thunder. He takes it from Satan and gives it to Elijah. Something that had been associated with fear becomes an instrument in the service of God. Divine Providence often works this way.
The humiliation that wounded our pride can become the beginning of humility. The temptation that exposed our weakness can teach us vigilance. The suffering that seemed to separate us from God can drive us more deeply into prayer. The failure that shattered our plans can loosen our attachment to our own will. Even sins that have been sincerely confessed and forgiven can leave behind a profound awareness of our need for grace.
God does not make evil good. Evil remains evil. But God is so powerful that He can bring good even from what the enemy intended for destruction. The devil wants the storm to make us afraid. God can use the same storm to make us saints.
Saint Michael beside Elijah
There is also something particularly beautiful about joining Saint Michael and Elijah in the Christian imagination. Saint Michael represents fidelity in heaven. Elijah represents fidelity upon earth. Michael refuses the rebellion of Lucifer. Elijah refuses the worship of Baal. Michael's name asks, “Who is like unto God?” Elijah's challenge asks, “If the Lord be God, follow him.” They speak, in different ways, the same truth. God alone is God.
This is why devotion to Saint Michael should never become merely a fascination with demons or spiritual warfare. Authentic devotion to the Archangel turns our attention toward the majesty of God. Michael does not proclaim himself. His entire identity points beyond himself. Who is like unto God? The answer is: no one. And that answer brings peace.
When You Hear the Thunder
The next time thunder rolls across the sky, we might remember this old Ukrainian Christian tradition. Let the thunder remind us that evil does not have the last word. Let the lightning remind us of Carmel and the fire that descended from heaven. Let the storm remind us that Saint Michael still stands as the great biblical image of angelic fidelity, fighting beneath the authority of God. And let Elijah's challenge enter our hearts once again: If the Lord be God, follow Him.
Perhaps there is something in our lives that needs to be surrendered. Perhaps there is an idol whose altar needs to be overturned. Perhaps there is a fear that has become too powerful in our imagination. Perhaps the enemy has convinced us that some temptation, wound, habit, or failure possesses a power that it simply does not possess. Then remember the thunder.
The old Ukrainian Christians looked toward the storm and saw more than darkness. They remembered that heaven was stronger.
So when the storms of life gather, call upon Saint Michael. Stand beside Elijah upon Carmel. Renew your baptismal rejection of Satan and your profession of faith in Jesus Christ. Place yourself again beneath the sovereignty of God. For the thunder does not belong to the devil. The thunder belongs to God. And even the storm can become His servant.
Prayer
Holy Archangel Michael,
commander of the heavenly armies,
defend us in the battle against the powers of darkness.
When the enemy seeks to frighten us,
remind us that no creature is equal to God.
When temptation thunders around us,
obtain for us courage, humility, and perseverance.
Holy Prophet Elijah,
you stood upon Mount Carmel
and called the people back to the worship of the living God.
Pray that every idol may be cast from our hearts
and that the fire of divine love may burn within us.
O Lord our God,
take even the storms of our lives
and make them serve Your Providence.
Turn our trials into perseverance,
our weakness into dependence upon Your grace,
and our battles into occasions of greater fidelity.
May we never halt between two masters,
but proclaim with all our heart:
“The Lord he is God, the Lord he is God.”
Amen.
Sources
“Saint Michael the Archangel,” Internet Encyclopedia of Ukraine, Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies, originally published in Encyclopedia of Ukraine, vol. 4 (1993), online entry.
“Saint Elijah,” Internet Encyclopedia of Ukraine, Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies, accessed September 30, 2026, online entry.
Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2nd ed., no. 395, “The Fall”.
Catechism of the Catholic Church, nos. 311–14, “The Creator”.
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