Allowing God to Speak through the Storms
Psalm 29; Lamentations 3:21-25
Jim Davis
Much of the Scriptures were written as God’s people faced the worst of times—during times of doubt and disbelief as they sought to believe. The first five books of Scripture were written during the 40 long, long years wandering in a wilderness desert. The scriptures not written during difficult times are those written about the failures and difficulties of God’s people.
Through these stories we learn how to endure through difficult times. It is encouraging to look back and recognize the tenacity of the Jews in seemingly hopeless times.
For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope.
Jeremiah writes as God’s judgement is coming on Israel because of her rebellion against God. He writes the book of Lamentations as Babylon enters Jerusalem destroying the city, destroying the temple and plundering their treasures. God’s people are taken captive to Babylon. Nehemiah, Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah are among those taken captive. Plus, literally thousands of others are taken into the 70 years of Babylonian captivity.
God withdrew his support from Israel because they turned to idol Gods. He allows Babylon to march in devastating the city. The city is in unbelievable turmoil as homes are destroyed. The temple is destroyed and the city walls are broken down. People are running for their lives, with no food and nothing to drink.
Jeremiah laments for Israel as God allows his people to experience the full weight of their failures.
“My sins have been bound into a yoke ;
by his hands they were woven together.
They have been hung on my neck,
and the Lord has sapped my strength.
He has given me into the hands
of those I cannot withstand.
Jeremiah writes these words explaining God’s judgement. In the midst of all that is happening, he also writes an almost unbelievable message of assurance and hope.
Lamentations 3:21-25
Yet this I call to mind
and therefore I have hope:
Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail.
They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion;
therefore I will wait for him.”
The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him,
to the one who seeks him;
it is good to wait quietly
for the salvation of the Lord.
Jeremiah writes, “Therefore I have hope: because of the Lord’s great love …” What a message of hope in the most trying circumstances. It calls for extreme hope as one faces such extreme judgements of God.
The ink on the parchment Jeremiah writes is barely dried, meanwhile inside Jerusalem they were searching for food to keep themselves alive. Outside the city walls is nothing but death and destruction as God’s judgement reigned. Jeremiah laments:
Lamentations 2:20
“Look, Lord, and consider:
Whom have you ever treated like this?
Should women eat their offspring,
the children they have cared for?
Should priest and prophet be killed
in the sanctuary of the Lord?”
Yet, in the midst of this mayhem Jeremiah writes:
Lamentations 3:21
Yet this I call to mind
and therefore I have hope:
Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail.
God’s Judgement Is Real
God’s judgement does come for godless wicked people—even to God’s chosen ones who have forsaken his ways. God’s judgement comes on each of us as we reap what we have sown in dishonor. Paul writes:
Romans 1:18-20
“The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.”
God brings judgement to humble us; God brings judgement to redirect our lives: God brings judgement for heart-rending change. God’s judgement is designed to turn us around in order that he may salvage our lives. God brings judgement to reveal his great love as we reach the end our ourselves.
The Jews witnessed the power and protection of Yahweh throughout their history. In turning away to other gods they became slaves to those gods made out of wood and stone. It is amazing as how they witnessed the power of Yahweh throughout their history. They were told story after story of God’s victories over the foreign gods and over their enemies. They had been taught the choices they made had the power of life and death wrapped up in the outcomes. Regardless they became slaves to their godless gods made by their own hands. The Israelites are reaping what they have sown in their rebellion. God allows the full weight of their choices to fall in judgement.
God’s judgement seeks to direct Judah away from a life of total destruction. Ten of the twelve tribes of Israel chased idol gods to their own destruction. Today they are called the lost tribes of Israel.
Real Hope Is Found In God
Much of scripture is written in the midst of God’s judgement. The scriptures seek to give us hope regardless of the nature of the storms engulfing us. Scriptures point us to the powerful voice above all the calamities life hurls at us.
Psalm 29:1-11
Ascribe to the Lord, you heavenly beings,
ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name;
worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness.
The voice of the Lord is over the waters;
the God of glory thunders,
the Lord thunders over the mighty waters.
The voice of the Lord is powerful;
the voice of the Lord is majestic.
The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars;
the Lord breaks in pieces the cedars of Lebanon.
He makes Lebanon leap like a calf,
Sirion [Mt Hebron] like a young wild ox.
The voice of the Lord strikes
with flashes of lightning.
The voice of the Lord shakes the desert;
the Lord shakes the Desert of Kadesh.
The voice of the Lord twists the oaks
and strips the forests bare.
And in his temple all cry, “Glory!”
The Lord sits enthroned over the flood;
the Lord is enthroned as King forever.
The Lord gives strength to his people;
the Lord blesses his people with peace.
As this storm chaser chases the storms, he sees only one voice In the entire universe that speaks above all storms. The psalmist contemplates the power manifested in the natural world. He observes thunder, storms ripping through the cedars, mountains shake from earthquakes, lightning, earthquakes in the desert and forest oaks ripped bare by storms. He sees God over all nature as a as he reminds himself that God’s voice speaks above all in the worst of times.
While living through hurricanes and tornadoes in Florida, earthquakes in California, and seeing floods sweep away neighborhoods you realize the awesome power of God in the natural world.
We may look at this psalm thinking it is sung from the mountain top of success. It may just as well be sung when the world is collapsing. It is used in worship to remind those gathered about the providence of God.
The one above all the storms, the one who brings the storms is here to give us strength and bless us with peace. The last verse of the psalm reminds us of what we need to dwell on in the midst of life’s storm.
The Lord gives strength to his people;
the Lord blesses his people with peace.
These verses give us real hope in the most difficult times. This is what we must reiterate over and over in our minds. Hope in God is a reality when we doubt victory is possible—when our worlds are collapsing around us—when there seems no way out.
The Lord gives strength to his people;
the Lord blesses his people with peace.
A few weeks ago I was camping in Gila National Forest on the bank of the Gila River in New Mexico. It was down in a canyon. That area of the US is one of the best places to observe the starry heavens. At night the dark canyon revealed the brightness of the Milky Way. Sitting there looking up realizing the One who governs the stars paths also governs my life with the utmost precision.
Psalm19:1-4
The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
Day after day they pour forth speech;
night after night they reveal knowledge.
They have no speech, they use no words;
no sound is heard from them.
Yet their voice goes out into all the earth,
their words to the ends of the world.
I have to wonder—-were psalms such as this one written in darkest of times? If not, it at least speaks during those times for each of us.
Paul writes, “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made so that people are without excuse.” (Romans 1:20)
No matter how silent God seems to be as we go through our struggles he continues to speak to us through the unseen. We are encouraged to look around us to remind ourselves of God’s work in our natural world. It points us to the One who is over every circumstance.
Hebrews 11:1-3
“Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for. By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.”
You don’t have to have a picture perfect understanding of that for which you hope. There was no way God’s people could see the end result of Babylonian captivity, but they were encouraged to place their hope in God. Paul writes about the promise to Abraham saying, “Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed . . .” (Romans 4:18) The Jews believed in a Messianic hope without a clear understanding of what it entailed. No one has a picture perfect understanding of how life will pan out or what heaven will be like. But we still place our hope in the unseen God over it all.
We study and mediate all our lives to truly see and understand God. However our greatest assurance is that he knows every battle that rages in our hearts. Our greatest assurance is that God is seeking each of us.
The Lord gives strength to his people;
the Lord blesses his people with peace.
Conclusion:
In difficult times we may long for the good ole days. We may wish things would go back to normal. We spend our time dwelling on the past. We need to look forward as we seek to discover God’s way in this wilderness wasteland.
Isaiah 43:18-19
“Forget the former things;
do not dwell on the past.
See, I am doing a new thing!
Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the wilderness
and streams in the wasteland.
Isaiah penned these words as he simultaneously prophesied the judgement of God’s that was to come. Isaiah penned these words at least a hundred years before God’s people were taken into Babylonian captivity. He knew they would be looking back thinking of the greatness of king Solomon, the temple he built and the riches lost as they were overthrown and all is gone. He tells them to forget the past for God is making a way in the wilderness.
Hoping in God against all hope is our greatest challenge. It really doesn’t matter if you were living during Babylonian exile or 2020-21, God has a message for every person.
Psalm 30:1-4
Sing the praises of the Lord, you his faithful people;
praise his holy name.
For his anger lasts only a moment,
but his favor lasts a lifetime;
weeping may stay for the night,
but rejoicing comes in the morning.
