He stilled the storm to a whisper; the waves of the sea were hushed. (Ps. 107:29)
My daughter’s navigation college required her to spend a year on the sea, sailing on cargo ships and military vessels in order to earn her pilot’s license. On one trip, after crossing the Mediterranean, they stopped in Egypt to pick up eight seasoned sailors from a volatile country. My daughter suddenly found herself in the role of mediator, trying to work out agreements between this new set of angry workers and a captain who resisted their constant demands.
While my daughter loved the adventure, she had to admit that part of the world was a dangerous place. These ancient countries had been ruled by tyrants, and the damage they caused ran deep.
The psalmist reminded us that the sovereignty of God runs deeper still—deeper than the damage of any wicked individual, no matter how vast the resources at his disposal. Indeed, the hubris of the wicked will one day be the source of their downfall.
But what do we do in the meantime? We wait on the Lord. Yes, powerful people in the world will abuse the authority they have been given by God. But after we have done all we can reasonably do, we must leave the rest in God’s hands.
God will have the final word in all matters of injustice. In the meantime, we love our enemies and continue in the work God has given us to do.
Choose one way to show love to someone you find difficult to love.
Doug Schmidt’s devotionals were taken from the Wesleyan Publishing House curriculum archives.
© 2022 Wesleyan Publishing House. Reprinted from Light from the Word. Used by permission. Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®.
