Praise Our God Who the Storm Fears
Word-Of-The-Day: ‘(4) Blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, who does not look to the proud, to those who turn aside to false gods. (5) Many, Lord my God, are the wonders You have done, the things You planned for us. None can compare with You; were I to speak and tell of Your deeds, they would be too many to declare. (6) Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, but my ears You have opened; burnt offerings and sin offerings You did not require. (7) Then I said, “Here I am, I have come; it is written about me in the scroll. (8) I desire to do Your will, my God; Your law is within my heart.”’ (Psalm 40:4-8)
Psalm 40 is a psalm of lamentation, or a crying out to God for deliverance. For David, this is also a psalm of praise, as he promotes God freely (Psalm 40:9-10) as one who lifted David out of a ‘slimy pit’ and placed him on solid rock (Psalm 40:2). In the focus verses of 4 through 8, though he is in despair nevertheless praises the Lord for all that He does and all of His plans for His people. David correctly points out that all God wants in return is our love, respect, and obedience to Him and His Word, a desire to do His will.
We often think of false gods as idols or graven images, like the depictions in movies of some prehistoric tribal people bowing down to something like a totem pole or a big rock carved to resemble a face. The fact is many people worship false gods that we create in our mind; we hear of an impending hurricane coming and fear it, knowing it can bring calamity, death, and destruction very quickly. In some, this becomes a ‘god’ to be feared. I submit we should not fear a hurricane; we should respect it for what it is and what it can do, but not fear it. Instead, we should trust our Lord to deliver us, to see and understand that His power is far greater than the hurricane, that with a simple gesture or whisper, the storm can be dissipated as Jesus did on the Sea of Galilee (Luke 8:24).
A hurricane is temporary, and it may be the instrument God uses to bring people to Him. In fearing the hurricane, many turn to Him knowing He can control it! Those who turn to God, whether before, during or after a storm, know an important truth: Don’t fear the hurricane, fear the God that the hurricane fears! It is true that big storms like hurricanes or big disasters like earthquakes or fires can destroy much. God has the ability to destroy everything He has created, but instead wants to save us – the reason He provided His only Son, Jesus, as a sacrifice for our eternal lives.
God desires our worship, our love, our respect, and most of all our praise in that all He provides and allows, including hurricanes, that are in His plans, to show that He is God to those who need Him. Pray that many open their eyes and hearts during such events and praise Him even in such disasters. He alone is worthy to be praised!
