“His Power O’er All The Earth”

Sunday, January 26, 2025

The month of January has shown us some dramatic behavior of the natural world.

Fires that started in Los Angeles on January 7 have continued to burn and to spread. Nearly 16,000 structures have been destroyed and 28 lives have been lost. Mercifully, rain was predicted for the area this weekend, but the damage that’s already done is staggering.

Then there are the winter storms which have blanketed balmy Southern states with far more snow and ice than they are used to. All-time record snowfall in some areas like coastal Alabama and southwest Texas brought dangerous road conditions that led to the deaths of at least five people and the complete halt of a lot of infrastructure.

Times like these serve to remind us that while we may applaud ourselves for great human accomplishments, we remain nowhere close to omnipotence. In fact, we can be overwhelmed by the very things that we need and enjoy. Fire is a gift that brings warmth, sanitizes, and helps us prepare food. But right now, it’s a major threat to life. Snow is a gift of moisture to the earth and a thing of pure beauty. But right now, it’s a roadblock to human movement.

We need to occasionally be reminded of all that out-powers us. We can have some dominion over the natural world, but we will never have total control. That remains solely in the hands of the one who created it and rules it with just the sound of his voice (cf. Mk. 4:41). And so when we see the great power of God’s world, we bow our heads and worship him: the creator, the sustainer, and the sovereign ruler of it all.

- Dan Lankford, minister

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