Over the Flood
The Lord sits enthroned over the flood; the Lord is enthroned as King forever. The Lord gives strength to his people; the Lord blesses his people with peace. - Psalm 29:10-11
Floods come in different shapes and sizes, and right now, the flood rising around us is smaller than the eye can see: COVID-19. Microscopic but mighty, this virus seems to overpower our greatest efforts to contain it, unimpressed by our medical advances, scientific progress and developments in technology.
Despite it’s permeation across the globe, this flood, and every life it impacts, has a great and powerful king enthroned above it. Human history has showcased power-hungry kings, full of self-obsession and greed as well as humble kings, full of compassion and wisdom. Kings who oppressed the weak on their climb to power and those who elevated the needs of their people above their own gain. In God, we have the most trustworthy king of all, whose intentions toward his people are kind and good (Psalm 145:17). He is strong and benevolent, greater than the best of all the kings humanity has known. Looking to God, we see a king enthroned above our current flood and above the havoc wreaked in its wake. We see him above the joblessness it creates, the anxiety it feeds, the fear it produces, the sickness it causes and the death toll it elevates.
He is above it all.
And when he looks down at our uncertainty and our fear and our pain, he remains compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love for us (Exodus 34:6). This King, high above it all, does not taunt or make fun of our weakness. Instead, he grants strength to the small ones, the ones who are low and can’t see from his perspective. He provides his endless strength and blesses us with peace right in the midst of the flood.
What makes these gifts of strength and peace more amazing is that they’re limitless. It would be like Publix never running out of meat, Costco never running out of toilet paper, and hospitals never running out of masks. Enough for everybody to buy their apocalypse amount of hand sanitizer without putting a dent in Amazon’s warehouse. That’s how much peace and strength he has stocked up: enough for everyone’s apocalypse-sized need. With plenty to spare. And he’s eager to share it with you today.
Take Away:
Meditate on Psalm 29:10-11 and allow God’s word to dispel fear as you remember that he sits above it all.
Believe that in your low perspective, God can supply you with strength and peace because he sees a wider view and is unmoved by your current circumstances.
Pray for God’s Spirit to give you strength to look to him instead of the headlines, to give you peace in place of fear.
Questions to consider:
Exactly which part of this global crisis is causing my heart to feel unsettled?
If I believe God sits enthroned above the virus that’s flooding the earth, do I also believe he is strong enough and willing to give me peace in the midst of it?