Blessedly, our most recent heavy rain event didn’t cause extensive damage. The month of May was uncharacteristically dry in our mountain neighborhoods, and we had found ourselves watering our gardens more frequently than we ought.
So, the steady, saturating rain that we received was much appreciated. As we know, however, too much of a good thing can be more than we can bear.
While severe storms, tornadoes, and earth-baking heat waves are rare in our mountain sanctuary, the locals will tell you about the floods that have wreaked havoc on our communities.
There were floods that occurred in the early 20th century before the TVA established a system of dams to control the water’s ebb and flow.
There were floods that accompanied tropical systems that camped out in our mountains because of weak steering currents in August.
There were the flash floods and landslides that come with ‘frog-gagging’ thunderstorms that pop up and rain themselves out over the same areas.
And then there was the storm system last year that created a wall of water that swept away whole mountainsides and that roared through homes, businesses, schools, and the lives of hundreds of our neighbors in nearby Cruso.
Water can be unimaginably powerful and destructive. Floodwaters can rise in minutes in the middle of the night while we sleep. Water can wash out bridges while school buses try to get children home safely. Impromptu waterfalls strand hikers and campers and force them to claw their way to higher ground.
The person of faith who penned Psalm 93 knew what water could do.
“The floods have lifted up, O LORD,
the floods have lifted up their voice;
the floods lift up their roaring.”
Yes, the Psalmist was referring to a naturally occurring event. But a careful read of the Psalm will reveal that the floods that we experience are more than just ‘Acts of God.’
Psalm 93 is relevant to those of us who read headlines about the natural world’s power and the unmistakable surge of climate-related disasters. But it is both short-sighted and naïve to suggest that these are the only kinds of ‘floods’ that “lift up their voice” and “lift up their roaring.”
There is a flood of civic discord in our culture and our country.
There is a flood of corruption to conceal wickedness and evil to preserve power and authority in governing authorities and Christian organizations.
There is a flood of gun violence that brings terror to those who wish to shop in peace, worship in peace, and go to school in peace.
There is a flood of anger that accompanies the fight for one’s rights rather than what’s best for the whole.
There is a flood of anxiety surrounding our physical and mental health and wellness.
There is a flood of refugees fleeing war-torn areas so that families can live in a place where terror doesn’t populate every waking and sleeping hour.
The Psalmist’s reference to the sound of raging floodwaters is appropriate. Any of us who have found ourselves at the water’s edge when a river is tumbling through a canyon knows that the sound can be deafening. Indeed, the sound of a flood’s tumult can make it impossible to hear anything else.
For those of us caught in a flood, all we can hear is the sound of the raging waters that are rising to swamp us.
And yet, the Psalmist reminds us that there is something else for which we are to listen:
“More majestic than the thunders of mighty waters,
more majestic than the waves of the sea,
majestic on high is the LORD!”
Why is this the case? Because “God established the world” and God’s throne “is from everlasting.”
The Psalmist is not saying that floods do not occur. And it doesn’t mean that God is simply “in control.” It means that God is above the floods and that God is unmoved. Likewise, God’s expectations and commands for us are unchanged. The Psalmist testifies that “God’s decrees are very sure; holiness befits God’s house.”
When we find ourselves surrounded by rising water, we are called to listen through the uproar for the voice of God. God’s Kingdom is ever-present and God’s commands—as best revealed in Jesus—never budge and never fail.
When we listen for God in the floods that we experience, we’ll find God’s refuge, strength, direction, and will. Think about it, if Jesus can walk on water, he can show us what it looks like to rise above the floodwaters ourselves. But it’s going to require something of us.
Namely, keeping our eyes on Jesus and doing what He says.