The news is hard to watch these days. North Korea tensions, Hurricane Harvey damage and relief needs, and now Hurricane Irma with the state of Florida potentially in its path. If that’s not enough to keep you awake at night, you most likely have your own personal anxieties and fears. What are we to do?
It helps to recall the words of Scripture from Isaiah 52 and be reminded that our God reigns. He indeed sits on His throne and as we saw from Ezra 1:1-11 this past Sunday, He is in providential control of everything. That’s the ultimate comfort.
Mark 4 has become my “go to” passage for much of my life. It’s the story of Jesus asleep in the boat while he and his disciples cross the Sea of Galilee in a storm. I can think of little more terrifying than being on the open water in a storm (I actually experienced that once, but I’ll save that story for another time).
The disciples fear for their life and awaken Jesus with the accusation, “Teacher do you not care that we are perishing?” (v.38). Jesus’ response is dramatic. He commands the winds and waves to calm with this command, “Peace, be still!” (v.39). As I heard Sinclair Ferguson put it in a sermon I heard him preach on this passage when I was a college student, Jesus purposed to take his disciples through the storm rather than around it.
Our God reigns. He reigns over North Korea and Hurricane Irma in the Atlantic. He’ll still be reigning after the storms pass. Let’s pray for His mercy on the people in the path of this storm and let’s be encouraged in unsettling times to know that our God reigns.