Psalm 33:1-12 (CEB)

1 All you who are righteous,
    shout joyfully to the Lord!
    It’s right for those who do right to praise God.
2 Give thanks to the Lord with the lyre!
    Sing praises to him with the ten-stringed harp!
3 Sing to him a new song!
    Play your best with joyful shouts!
4 Because the Lord’s word is right,
    his every act is done in good faith.
5 He loves righteousness and justice;
    the Lord’s faithful love fills the whole earth.
6 The skies were made by the Lord’s word,
    all their starry multitude by the breath of his mouth.
7 He gathered the ocean waters into a heap;
    he put the deep seas into storerooms.
8 All the earth honors the Lord;
    all the earth’s inhabitants stand in awe of him.
9 Because when he spoke, it happened!
    When he commanded, there it was!

10 The Lord overrules what the nations plan;
    he frustrates what the peoples intend to do.
11 But the Lord’s plan stands forever;
    what he intends to do lasts from one generation to the next.
12 The nation whose God is the Lord,
    the people whom God has chosen as his possession,
    is truly happy!

Reflection

There are days when we all need some quiet reassurance that everything will be okay. Recently, I’ve experienced a number of them. Perhaps you know what I mean. Rainy days and other scary moments–when it seems that all the difficulties of life want to take hold and/or take us out! These are the kinds of days that leave us tearful and fearful. These moments can leave us seriously shaken – whether by weather or by other kinds of evil in this world that threaten to steal away our joy.

I was recently driving through a quick rainstorm, when suddenly the rain turned to golf ball sized hail.  For a moment I found myself stuck and even strangely ducking from within the safety of my car. Now, in the middle of a thundering hailstorm, fear had me paralyzed. I prayed and then fortunately found safe parking by pulling up under a tree. 

I was reminded of our Lord who was with me behind that wheel! I thought of just how it is our Lord who stirs my heart, because “the earth is full of his unfailing love.” Whew, my heart was quieted in that storm. Though I was shaken, my heart was and is stirred by the Spirit. Our Lord was with me through that hailstorm.

Strange, because I could have instead feared our Lord for all the power and might that is our God.  “For he spoke, and it came to be.” But instead, my heart was stirred to rejoice in finding a moment of quiet shelter. I was fearful, shaken, and afraid, but thinking of our Lord left me stirred in quiet repose. Our Lord helped me know the quiet within the storm.

by Barbara Carlson

For Pondering & Prayer

The power and might of our Lord can be found all around us. What signs from God might scare you? How does knowing that God has the power over the universe calm you? 

Prayer: Dear Lord, by your hand the heavens and earth are stirred. Let me always revere your power and might. Stir my heart and help me dance and sing because of all that you have given! Thank you, Lord, for evidence of your unfailing love. Amen.