Of Thunderstorms and Still Waters

 

June 26, 2025

Psalm 29:3,10


“The voice of the Lord is over the waters; the God of glory thunders, the Lord thunders over the mighty waters… The Lord sits enthroned over the flood; the Lord is enthroned as King forever.”



As we have seen over the last few days summer can be a season of contrast. One day we sit in our yards with the hot sun and almost unbearable humidity, longing for a breeze, and the next day, or maybe even that same day, we are sheltering from a booming thunderstorm, watching trees bend and skies flash. A full reading of Psalm 29 offers us first, a God whose voice thunders over the waters, whose power shakes the wilderness (vv. 3–9), and second, a God who gives strength and peace to His people (v. 11).

God, in other words is a “storm-shaker” and the “still-water Shepherd”. He is the mighty Creator whose voice breaks cedars (Psalm 29:5), and the gentle Shepherd who “makes me lie down in green pastures… leads me beside still waters… restores my soul” (Psalm 23:2–3). In the Bible, the presence of water often represents chaos and danger, think of the flood in Genesis 6–9, Jonah tossed into the stormy sea, or Jesus and the disciples caught in a squall on the Sea of Galilee (Mark 4:35–41). But in every case, God speaks, intervenes, or stills the waves.

Storms remind us of what we cannot control—but they also remind us who does.

In Psalm 29, God isn’t distressed by the storm. He commands it. And He is not overthrown by the flood, He is enthroned above it (v. 10). Whatever the storm, external or internal, God remains Lord. That is comforting good news.

Let’s Pray

Lord, whether I’m in a place of stillness or storm, let me hear Your voice. Help me to trust that You are never far off. You are the God who reigns over the thunder and the quiet. Speak peace into the storms I face. Amen.



The Take Away

Write down one storm you are facing, it may be emotional (grief, anxiety), physical (illness, exhaustion), or spiritual (doubt, dryness). Then:

Read Psalm 29 aloud—yes, aloud. As you read, imagine God speaking through the thunder and sitting enthroned above the chaos of your storm.

What might God be saying to you through this storm? Where have you witnessed God's faithful before?

Remember, 

“The Lord sits enthroned over the flood.”