Monday, October 5, 2009
Seeing God in the Storm
(Psalm 18:7-15)
While today’s portion may certainly have reference to events of creation week or the catastrophic days of the flood, most commentators agree that, ultimately, David is describing a thunderstorm. Read the passage again, this time thinking about the high drama of nature unleashed in the fury of a storm. Surely David pictured the blackness of thunder heads sweeping from the Western Mediterranean, spreading dread shadows over the peaceful Judean hillsides. He recalled the nervousness of the sheep, the chill of the air, the first furtive bolts of lightening confined to the clouds. Then, almost without warning, he depicts the onslaught of the storm’s tumult—rain, wind, lightening, thunder—even hail! David had been there—and we have, too.
Perhaps most instructively, David attributes the thunderstorm to God’s sovereign presence. Meteorologists conjecture about high and low pressure systems clashing, and while scientific laws govern weather patterns, Christians must remember that God’s sovereignty governs everything. God is in the midst of every storm. God rides upon the wings of the wind (10).
David, then, took comfort in two great truths: First, that God is in complete control of every storm. His sovereignty is never shaken or surprised. When things seem to be swirling out of control, God’s hand is steadiest on the events of our lives. Secondly, the thunderstorm demonstrates the awesome power of God. Man may predict a storm; but he cannot prevent one. God alone has the power to conjure the storm, and God alone has the power to bring the calm!
