Who Are You With?

Excellent or Praiseworthy is posted on Monday and Thursday nights.

“The Lord is king. He is clothed with majesty and strength. The earth is set firmly in place and cannot be moved… The Lord rules supreme in heaven, greater than the roar of the ocean, more powerful than the waves of the sea…” —Psalms 93:1 and 4

When I was in Afghanistan I took a couple of long drives to other camps and was always wary of what could happen on those drives. We did a lot of preparation to make sure the risks were reduced to a minimum. One time I had a forward air controller with me, someone who could call for help from the Air Force if we needed it. It was amazing how much more relaxed I was knowing that if someone did give us trouble, some serious firepower would turn up quickly in order to help us out. That is why I like Psalm 93 so much — it reminds me that we have some serious firepower backing us up all the time.

It’s a pretty simple Psalm that declares God’s Lordship over everything and everywhere, and tells us that He is more powerful than anything else we can imagine. The writer says that “The Lord is King” and that He “rules supreme in heaven” and is greater than the ocean and “more powerful than the waves”.

Sometimes we accept these statements from a human perspective and somehow manage to limit God. We know what a king is, but our human kings have human flaws and they don’t last. Most of us have seen and been in the ocean when it is relatively benign. But most of us have never seen truly gigantic waves and understood just how powerful you need to be in order to be more powerful than the waves. To really start to understand the power and control that God has, we need to dwell some more on verse 1.

God is clothed in majesty. Why is that so important to know? God is not like an earthly ruler who needs symbols of office so you know He is King. He doesn’t need robes and crowns and scepters – if you get near Him there will be no question who is in charge because His very being screams that He is majestic and in total control.

God is clothed in strength. One version says He is “armed with strength”. God doesn’t need weapons or armor or body guards to be strong. He is armed with strength itself and no one and nothing can overcome Him. His strength never wanes. . . He never feels tired or even slightly less strong after using His strength. Think of the strongest, most powerful person or machine or thing that you know (other than God). Whatever or whoever you thought of is pathetically weak next to God.

God’s majesty and strength holds the earth firmly in place. There is nothing and no one who has the authority or strength to move it even slightly unless God allows it.

As a husband and a father I need to remind myself that I am with God and He is with me. Because of who God is, I have nothing to fear. No human enemy, no natural disaster, no deployment stress, no bad days, no lonely times, no financial pressures, no children having problems, no troublesome workmates, no leaky roof, no car accidents, no illness, or any other difficulties or threats that are thrown at me and my family can defeat me in the end. I am with a God who is clothed in majesty and armed with strength, and that’s infinitely better than even having the US Air Force on call to help me out.

Questions to Share:

1. What difficulties or threats are you facing right now in your marriage, with your children, with your work? Write them down.

2. Which of those things do you think are too big for God to deal with? Which of them will make Him tired if He has to deal with them? Which of them exist beyond His authority?

3. Remind yourself daily just how majestic and strong God is. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you draw on God’s strength to live your life under His authority.

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