Psalm 29:1-11

Power is one of the most sought after commodities in the world.  Countries strive to become more powerful through the size of their armies and their economic influence.  Companies seek to expand their power through economic growth and the control that growth can bring them in the market place.  Individuals lust after power and will go to great lengths to be seen as powerful in their families, place of business and even their church.  As much as men desire to have power; the reality is that the most powerful men on the planet are still very powerless in comparison with the Lord.  All of us and all of creation are under His sovereign power.  The problem with many people today is that they believe themselves to exert some sort of power over God.  When men begin to consider themselves as gods, they become very dangerous to the rest of humanity but they do not pose any threat whatsoever to the one and only all-powerful God of the universe.  In light of this fact we should have two basic responses.

WE SHOULD ASCRIBE GLORY TO GOD: When we ascribe glory to God we do not make Him glorious; we simply recognize that He is glorious.  All of creation, whether they be angels that inhabit the heavens or men who inhabit the earth, are called upon to ascribe glory, strength and honor to His name.  We should stand in awe of His majesty and holiness.  We must recognize His amazing and complete power.  He is over all of creation.  His voice created all that exists and has the ability to destroy all that exists.  God is in control of the world in which we live and He sustains every aspect of history with the word of His mouth.  God does not go to great efforts in order to increase His power or influence.  He is, always has been and always will be all-powerful.  The mere sound of His voice can build anything up or tear anything down.  This truth should build in our hearts the burning desire to worship by recognizing who He is and ascribing glory and power to His holy name.


WE SHOULD ASK FOR HELP FROM GOD: Since God is all powerful, He has the ability to delegate power to whomever He chooses.  He also has the ability to bring peace to all who trust Him.  Since God is able to give power and peace it only makes sense that those who desire these blessings would ask for them from God instead of striving to attain them through their own strength and for their own glory.  Throughout history God has demonstrated His ability to empower His people to overthrow massively larger armies than themselves.  It did not matter that they were out manned and under equipped because God empowered them and gave them the victory.  On the occasions that they thought they had their own power and trusted in their own strength; they were soundly defeated.  When we recognize the power of God it should produce peace in our lives because not only is He all-powerful but He is also perfectly holy and always good.  We must stop trying to produce peace from our own power and learn to live in peace because we trust and serve the all-powerful God of the universe. 

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