His Authority

DEVOTION

PSALMS

HIS AUTHORITY

114:1

When Israel came out of Egypt, the house of Jacob from a people of foreign tongue, 2 Judah became God's sanctuary, Israel his dominion. 3 The sea looked and fled, the Jordan turned back; 4 the mountains skipped like rams, the hills like lambs. 5 Why was it, O sea, that you fled, O Jordan, that you turned back, 6 you mountains, that you skipped like rams, you hills, like lambs? 7 Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the God of Jacob, 8 who turned the rock into a pool, the hard rock into springs of water.

NIV

We do men think we are? Can we make the sea flee? Can we turn back a river? Can we make mountains skip? Can we control the weather? Can we walk on the water? Can we calm a storm? Can we make the earth tremble? Can we cause a tornado or hurricane? Can we even make the wind blow or not blow? Can we stop the rain? Who does man think he is? The earth and everything in it belongs to the LORD and trembles at his presence. Have we ever made a spring of water pour from a solid rock so millions of people can drink? Can man create all the oil beneath the earth’s surface, or all that natural gas? Man only has been given the knowledge to extract it. How is it that man believes he controls his environment or can have an effect on that which God established and has total authority over? Does man think he is greater than God? Maybe the men who think they are greater than God do not believe God, or that he is just this God who started it all and left to go somewhere else and has no interest in his creation. But that is not so, God keeps his creation at work according to his word. We see how God did all he did in the time of Israel. Then we know about Jesus and all his works over creation. It is not just the walking on the water, or calming the storm, but all his authority over sickness, disease, blindness, earing, healing the lame, curing deformities, and his power over demons. Then there is his power over death, raising the little girl and his friend Lazarus from the dead. His own resurrection from the dead, having victory over death. God has absolute authority over everything in and on the earth as well as with people who turn to him. Because he created man with the ability to make a choice, to choose to believe and listen to God or to be disobedient and refuse to listen to God, the people who refuse to listen to him live outside his authority. They want to live within their own authority, but that will lead them to disaster. It is funny how these are the people who think they are in charge of the environment, that mankind effects his world, actually are destroying themselves. God is the only one who controls the work of his hands and we need to learn to live within his authority over all creation.