(Psalm 29, The Message)
1-2 Bravo, God, bravo!
Gods and all angels shout, “Encore!”
In awe before the glory,
in awe before God’s visible power.
Stand at attention!
Dress your best to honor him!
3 God thunders across the waters,
Brilliant, his voice and his face, streaming brightness—
God, across the flood waters.
4 God’s thunder tympanic,
God’s thunder symphonic.
5 God’s thunder smashes cedars,
God topples the northern cedars.
6 The mountain ranges skip like spring colts,
The high ridges jump like wild kid goats.
7-8 God’s thunder spits fire.
God thunders, the wilderness quakes;
He makes the desert of Kadesh shake.
9 God’s thunder sets the oak trees dancing
A wild dance, whirling; the pelting rain strips their branches.
We fall to our knees—we call out, “Glory!”
10 Above the floodwaters is God’s throne
from which his power flows,
from which he rules the world.
11 God makes his people strong.
God gives his people peace.
Wow! What a beautiful, poetic, and vivid portrayal of God’s omnipotence and sovereignty! I think sometimes we let it slip from our minds just how powerful He truly is! In the midst of our adoration of, and our supplications to, God the Father, Jesus our friend, we sometimes lose our sense of wonder and awe at the majesty and dominion of God our King, Creator of the universe.
But the Lord made the earth by his power,
and he preserves it by his wisdom.
With his own understanding
he stretched out the heavens.
When he speaks in the thunder,
the heavens roar with rain.
He causes the clouds to rise over the earth.
He sends the lightning with the rain
and releases the wind from his storehouses.
(Jeremiah 10:12-13)
I am always reminded of God’s might during storms. Though they can be stressful, causing worry over potential damage and safety concerns, storms (to me) are thrilling, because there is this always a sense of energy and excitement in the air…a feeling that something so much bigger than humanity is at work. There is something utterly humbling about the movement and strength of a storm…because we are helpless to it. Storms remind us that we are only human…small and dependent…at the mercy of God at all times. Storms remind us that everything can change in an instant. One mighty gust of wind can leave your home in shambles. One flash flood can carry away everything you own. One storm can change your life forever.
As we go about our lives, we encounter our own figurative storms from time to time. It’s inevitable. We sometimes have to face things that send us running for shelter…things that bring us to our knees, searching through the rubble for something that remains in the aftermath. It is in these situations that we reach out to our “Good, Good Father” for comfort. We look to Him for support and peace when we feel distraught, as we rightly should, yet if we are not careful, we can get lost in our suffering. We forget that, above all else, God is sovereign.
The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it. (Psalm 24:1)
Seek His comfort, but embrace that peace and move past the pain into a place of victory…because God is so much bigger than the aftermath of the storm you’re facing. If you trust Him to comfort you, if you trust Him to provide for you and bring you peace, then surely you can trust that He has a purpose and a plan for your need. Surely your faith is big enough to allow you to trust that He can and will make all things new.
This we know, that the God who called forth out of darkness and void an entire universe, who formed man from mere dust…into whom He breathed His own breath, who shut the mouths of hungry lions, who split an entire sea, who brought dry bones back to life, He is the same God who walks right beside little ole you every step of your life. He is interested in YOU. This mighty, sovereign King is your “Good, Good Father” and shepherd. He is your friend and comforter. Yet above all else, He is Creator, whose power is unmatched for all eternity.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, “Yours, O Lord, is the greatness, the power, the glory, the victory, and the majesty. Everything in the heavens and on earth is yours, O Lord, and this is your kingdom. We adore you as the one who is over all things.” (1 Chronicles 29:11) Amen.
Thinking Out Loud 