Psalm 29
A psalm of David.
1 Ascribe to the Lord, you heavenly beings,
ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
2 Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name;
worship the Lord in the splendor of his[a] holiness.
3 The voice of the Lord is over the waters;
the God of glory thunders,
the Lord thunders over the mighty waters.
4 The voice of the Lord is powerful;
the voice of the Lord is majestic.
5 The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars;
the Lord breaks in pieces the cedars of Lebanon.
6 He makes Lebanon leap like a calf,
Sirion[b] like a young wild ox.
7 The voice of the Lord strikes
with flashes of lightning.
8 The voice of the Lord shakes the desert;
the Lord shakes the Desert of Kadesh.
9 The voice of the Lord twists the oaks[c]
and strips the forests bare.
And in his temple all cry, “Glory!”
10 The Lord sits enthroned over the flood;
the Lord is enthroned as King forever.
11 The Lord gives strength to his people;
the Lord blesses his people with peace.
There are two things battling for my mind this morning. Fear and peace. My email box is full of news articles screaming at me to join the crowd of fear and anxiety. Things about more corruption and injustices in the world. Things about new variants of Covid and new discoveries about how the things you thought were good for you are actually bad for you. Things about inflation and about the end of the world. Things about wars, famine, and earthquakes. Yet when I look outside my window, large snowflakes are peacefully making their way from heaven to earth. These intricately designed crystals are not anxiously bombarding me, but rather they are quietly and gentling beckoning me to redirect my focus. The trees are still, standing straight and tall with wide open arms to receive the falling mana from heaven. They know what to do. They are not upset by politics and inflation because they know the real Source of their provision. They have everything they really need: oxygen, water, soil, and sunlight and remain unconvinced that they need anything more to be happy and fruitful. They are ok being still, not anxiously trying to produce leaves, but instead knowing that this is a time for rest and receiving. The slow, steady pace of the falling snowflakes seems to be God’s way of saying, “I sit enthroned over the floods of Covid, inflation, and wars. I am king forever. Turn from fear and be at peace. If I’m not anxious why should you be?”