God is Still in Control

While there is a lot of craziness going on in the world, it can be hard to see God through the smoke. There are a lot of things that will try and convince us that God is not still in control and that He is not there to hear us. While this is not true, it can be hard for us to see past this and see God still ruling over the world. As a helpful reminder to the people of Israel, they could turn to some of the Psalms, and one that would be worth remembering even today is Psalm 97.

This Psalm begins by reminding us that the Lord reigns. This is something that can be found in many of the Psalms, but in this one, the author reminds us of the awesome power of the Lord. He starts with an image of God that can be seen in Exodus 19:16-19 where God is calling Moses and the people of Israel to Mount Sinai to deliver the commandments. We need to remember that the God that we serve is powerful and frightening as well as all his other attributes.

The Psalmist reminds us that God is not hidden and that the Lord is most high. When we struggle to see who oversees the things happening in the world, we need to remember that God still reigns. The Psalmist also says that all those who worship images are put to shame. The people of Israel needed this reminder from time to time because of their practice of abandoning God for the gods of their neighbors. Remember that God is easy to see, and the people of God should exalt Him above all else. Hebrews 1:6 even points to the fact that the angels would worship God when he brings his firstborn into the world. All the creation of God should worship the Lord because of his great power and the fact that he rules the world.

This Psalm ends with a reminder that we who love the Lord should hate evil. Evil is hard to forget and even harder to avoid. When we ask what is good, some will say something is good because God says that it is good, but that is not the case. Goodness is an attribute of God, so something is good, not because God says it is good, but because it shares a quality with God. Then there is evil which would be best understood as the absence of good. The people of God should hate evil because there is no quality of God to be found in it. Through the hating of evil and the serving of God, the lives of the saints will be preserved. Remember that God provides for his people no matter where they are or what troubles them. Rejoice in the Lord and give thanks to His holy name.

When the crazy things of this world begin to pull at you and try to drag you away from God, remember that he saw Israel through the wilderness and into the promised land, and he promises that he will see you through until we all reach the place of rest on the other side of the Jordan.