“Mightier than the thunders of many waters, mightier than the waves of the sea, the Lord on high is mighty!” -Psalm 93:4
Last week, my family spent some time in the Blue Water Area on the shores of Lake Huron. We got to see lots of massive freighters sail by and did plenty of swimming ourselves. But the water was relatively calm only two of the days we were there. Most of the time, we had to contend with the waves, and on our last day at the beach, the waves were too big for our kids to swim safely.
These relatively small waves on Lake Huron were mighty and dangerous. And we had zero power to control them. They made me think of several passages in the Bible, like Psalm 93:4, where we read about God’s power over the waves. He is more powerful than the most crushing wave. The thunder of the mightiest waves is only a faint echo compared to the power of our Creator and King.
He is mightier than the waves, more powerful than any November storm on the Great Lakes, and he alone can still the waves. As Ethan the Ezrahite declares in Psalm 89:9: “You rule the raging of the sea; when its waves rise, you still them.” When Jesus walked this earth, he literally walked upon the waves and calmed them with a word, proving that he is the Son of God (Mark 4:39; Matt 14:32).
God’s power over the waves and storms probably raise questions for us, like “How can God allow destructive forces like raging seas?” There is a place for those questions, but these passages of Scripture are really intended as a comfort to God’s people.
There are no rogue waves. No storm can overpower our God. He reigns in majesty and holiness and righteousness over the raging seas.
In the Ancient Near East, the sea was often deified and functioned as a symbol of chaos and evil. Yet, God’s people can know that there is no evil that can threaten God’s sovereignty or overturn his plans for his people. We will never find ourselves in a storm outside of God’s providence.
Right now, maybe you feel that you are sailing on lifeboat on a raging sea. Or maybe things just feel a bit rocky right now, and the waves feel bigger than usual. Remember your God who is mightier than the waves and rules the raging of the sea. He is with you. He may not calm your storm immediately. But he will bring you safely to the eternal shores, to the place where all waves will be stilled forever.
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