Thinking About the Storm

This satellite image was captured around 1:45 p.m. ET Wednesday. NOAA/STAR https://media.npr.org/assets/img/2018/09/12/flo-2p20182551747_goes16-abi-conus-geocolor-2500x1500_wide-1d7c7bd2b53c036f70f10042ab35160a3e3e739e-s1600-c85.jpg

Scripture:

Psa. 19:0   To the leader. A Psalm of David.

¹ The heavens are telling the glory of God;

and the firmament proclaims his handiwork.

Psa. 19:14    Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart

be acceptable to you,

O LORD, my rock and my redeemer.

Observation:

When we stop and think about the world around us; as we gaze up into the sky, we are overwhelmed by the power and strength of God’s creation. The heavens declare God’s glory and power. When we look at the earth; the beauty and the rich variety of all that we experience on a daily basis, how can we think of anything but God. 

The Psalmist would take time to meditate and think on the things of God’s creation. These became a part of his declaration of praise and worship to God. His prayer was that this meditation and his words of affirmation and praise would be acceptable to the LORD, who is our firm foundation and the one who saves us. 

Application:

For days our news feed has been absorbed with stories about the impending storm, Florence. As I write this morning the storm is making landfall in North Carolina, in the United States. All week the leading meteorologists of the world have been trying to predict exactly what this storm would do. Where would Florence at make land-fall? Would it be high or low tide? How high would the sustained winds be? How much rain will there really be? And for all of our wonderful technology and skilled professionals, it’s still a bit of guess work because of the unpredictability of these kinds of events. We had been told that it would be a category 4, possibly nearing a category 5 storm when it hit shore. This morning, it is a category 1, and we are grateful, for it is not what had been anticipated. That’s because these storms and the power of nature are still beyond our ability to entirely understand, and they are certainly far beyond our capacity to control. 

The heavens declare the glory of God — because, there is so much out of our control. The secular humanists would like to explain everything that happens on the earth as a cause and effect of humanity. But what happens when they can’t? It can and should awaken our hearts and minds to a power much greater than our own. When we see a storm like Florence, we ought to be brought to a place of awe, meditating upon the power of the LORD. The very God who created the systems that can power up or down a storm like Florence, is the God who loves and cares for you and me. Why would I want to put my trust in myself, when I have a welcome invitation from the Creator God who is my rock and my redeemer. 

We are challenged to slow down and join the Psalmist in taking time to worship and praise the God of all creation. The incredible power of a storm, or the joyful run of a gecko should all remind us of the incredible creativity of our God, and lead us to a place of awe. 

Prayer:

Lord, open my eyes to see the world through your eyes, my rock and my redeemer.  May your holy presence be with those who may be suffering today because of the mighty power of this storm. We ask for your protection and guidance. Amen.