Faith Blog

HE IS LORD OF EVERY STORM - HE IS LORD OF YOUR STORM

In Psalm 29, we see the power of the Lord, the power of poetry, and most of all, the confident assurance that God is in control. The psalmist calls upon the great and mighty to give thanks unto God, and to worship him in the beauty of holiness, on account of a tempest that had taken place, vs. 1-2. He shouts the wonders produced by a thunderstorm, which he calls the voice of God, vs. 3-9, and speaks of the majesty of God, vs. 10.  He then points out the good He will do to His people in vs.11.

There is no storm over which He is not Lord. I don’t know about you but I kind of have a love-hate relationship with storms. One part of me loves to watch and stand in awe and another part of me is gripped with fear and awe.  Storms have a way getting your attention and perhaps that’s part of the point of the psalm.

Almost the entire psalm is talking about how God is powerful over all the earth. He conquers the trees, the mountains, the deserts, and the weather. Specifically, these are the things that we cannot conquer and that, typically, are intimidating and threatening to us. We see God crushing all these things that can crush us. Then, at the very end, we see this powerful God turn and deal with us with such kindness, imparting His own strength and peace to us.  

We all experience storms in life. They sometimes change our lives forever and yet we can’t control them … This Psalm talks about His voice being in the storm. Storms have a way of getting our attention and sometimes redirecting our steps.  They often change our plans but often I miss hearing his voice in the storm offering His peace. Let this last verse of Psalm 29 wash over you and give you peace in the midst of whatever storm you may be facing.  

11 “The Lord will give strength unto his people; the Lord will bless his people with peace.”

As I sit here watching a brief rain storm from my porch at family camp and gaze at the Rocky Mountain National Park, it seems unfathomable to me that the God who made all this, and speaks everything into existence cares for us and desires to give us peace in the midst of what we perceive to be big storms. He could crush us much easier than crushing a mountain or a giant tree, and yet he doesn’t. He lifts us up, closer to him.

We see in this Psalm that it’s by His voice alone that he can accomplish all this. He need not even lift a finger. It calls us back to Genesis where he speaks everything into being—and here we see His voice calling much of it away.  One of my favorite storms in the New Testament is where Jesus is in the boat on the Sea of Galilee.  Remember the story? He falls asleep and the disciples go into panic mode when the storm hits.  Jesus, leans over the boat and speaks to the storm and all is still. Can you imagine the peace in that moment as all of creation obeys his voice? Jesus is in the boat when you and I have storms come up, and He has all the power to just speak the word and bring peace. 

HE IS LORD OF EVERY STORM -  HE IS LORD OF YOUR STORM

OPPOSITION

Opposition in sports can be for fun, but opposition in other life situations can be for real.

Today’s reading in Ezra 3-4 tells of the opposition the Jewish people received when they returned from exile to their homeland in Jerusalem. The reason and circumstances for their return were extraordinary, with the abundant blessings of their foreign rulers, but when they began to rebuild their place of worship in Jerusalem, their enemies were soon dogging and opposing them to the point that the work was shut down for a number of years. Later, God would raise up leaders who would encourage and help them resume the work.

Psalm 28:3 tells of those who “speak cordially with their neighbors but harbor malice in their hearts.”

Ultimately our opposition is not from “flesh and blood,” but from “the cosmic powers over this present darkness,” from “spiritual forces of evil” (Ephesians 6:12)—what we also refer to as spiritual warfare.

May God give us wisdom and strength and protection for any opposition we may be facing today.