It almost seems like I might have talked about this psalm out here before, but even if I have, I’m going to do it again, because it is such an awesome psalm. You probably noticed a phrase that the psalm uses over and over. That phrase is “the voice of the Lord”. Let’s look at what it says about the voice of the Lord.
It says that the voice of the Lord “thunders over the mighty waters”. The voice of the Lord is “powerful” and “majestic”. The voice of the Lord “breaks the cedars”. The voice of the Lord “strikes with flashes of lightning”. The voice of the Lord “shakes the desert”. The voice of the Lord “twists the oaks and strips the forests bare”.
Think of the power God has, as described by that psalm. And then think about this: God does all those things with just God’s voice. Nothing else. Just the voice of the Lord.
That’s pretty amazing. But I guess we should not be amazed when we remember the first chapter of Genesis. There it says that God created the universe and everything in it with just God’s voice. Remember? God says “let there be light” and there is. God says there should be dry ground and there is. God did it all just by speaking. Can you imagine how much power God would have if God really rolled up God’s sleeves and went to work?
Now, on the one hand, thinking about God’s power can be kind of scary. Because, after all, if God can break trees with just his voice, if God’s voice strikes with flashes of lightning, think about what God could do to us if God chose to. God could wipe us out in an instant. God would not even have to work up a sweat. God could just say, “Let there be no more Pastor Jeff” and I’d be gone without ever knowing what had happened.
And the reason I say God’s power is scary is that we all know that we’re sinners. Each one of us. We sin over and over and over again. I do, and you do, too. The Apostle Paul tells us that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. I’m not saying you’re the worst people in the world, and I’m not saying I’m the worst person in the world. I’m just saying that none of us is who we should be. None of us is who God wants us to be. God looks at each one of us, you and me and everyone else, and sees the same thing: a sinner.
And because we know we’re sinners, we know that we are not worthy of God’s love. We know we have not earned it. We know we don’t deserve it. And so, we think, what if God’s mad at me? We think, God would have every right to be mad at me, because of my sins. If God’s mad at me, God could do anything to me and there’d be nothing I could do about it.
Now, that’s all true. And yet, even though it’s true, it does not matter. It’s not relevant. it does not matter that we’re not worthy of God’s love, because God loves people who are not worthy. It does no matter that we’ve not earned God’s love because God loves people who have not earned it. It does not matter that we don’t deserve God’s love, because to God, there’s no such thing as a person who does not deserve love. God loves sinners. God loves every one of us unworthy, undeserving people. God loves you, and God loves me.
And because God loves us, we don’t have to be scared of God’s power. God would never use God’s power to hurt us. God would never use God’s power to harm us in any way. God uses God’s power only for our good. For your good, and for my good, and for the good of everyone else.
Bad things still happen, of course. But those things don’t happen because of God. They happen because people make choices, and sometimes they make bad choices. They happen because things like disease and natural disasters are part of the world. We wonder sometimes why God allows those things to be part of the world, but that’s a question we’re not going to get answered in this world. We just know that’s the way it is, and that we have to deal with those things as best we can.
But even in those bad things, God is still there, and God still uses God’s power for good. God does not promise to keep us away from bad things. God just promises to be with us in the bad times and guide us through them. Remember, in the twenty-third psalm, it says, “Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me.” It does not say that God will keep us from having to go into the dark valleys of our lives. We still have to go through them. But we know that, even when we’re in the dark valley, God is still with us. God will guide us through that dark valley, and eventually will lead us back into the light.
God has incredible power. The voice of the Lord can do amazing things. But as Christians, we don’t have to fear God’s power. If we just trust God, and accept Jesus Christ as our Savior, we can know that God will only use God’s power for our good. And we’ll also know that, when the time comes, we will go to be with God, and live not just in the presence of God’s power, but in the presence of God’s love.
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