“The Lord has established his throne in the heavens, and his kingdom rules over all.” Psalm 103:19
The Lord created and established everything, including our existence. And He continues to rule over all creation. While reading Psalm 103 recently, v19 leapt off the page to me. It begins in the past tense, and ends in the present tense.
I find myself too easy to easily distracted from the foundational truth of the Lords sustaining power. I suspect I am not alone. So much depends on what, or who, we concentrate on.
I invite you to take a few moments to breathe in these sometimes-familiar passages. The blue links are to help look them up in context. You might like to notice the tense of the verbs, past, present, and future.
In the beginning God created[a] the heavens and the earth. Genesis 1:1
”11 Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and you are exalted as head above all. 12 Both riches and honor come from you, and you rule over all. In your hand are power and might, and in your hand it is to make great and to give strength to all. 13 And now we thank you, our God, and praise your glorious name”. 1 Chronicles 29:11-13
“But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” Matthew 6:33
“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.” Matt. 13:44
“Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.[a] Your kingdom come,
your will be done,[b] on earth as it is in heaven.” Matthew 6:9-10
“3 As he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”4 And Jesus answered them, “See that no one leads you astray. 5 For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will lead many astray. 6 And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet. 7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are but the beginning of the birth pains.” Matthew 24
We clearly find ourselves on this continuum of the birth pains Jesus promised. Sooner or later we will learn the truth that God rules over all. May we all resolutely look for, and choose to experience, the ever-present goodness and sovereignty of our loving designer and Creator.
Abba, I ask forgiveness for allowing my gaze to sometimes focus more on problems and distractions, than on You and Your character. Thank you for your forgiveness, and for being the only one who rules over all! AMEN
PS: You might enjoy this song that came to me repeatedly as I contemplated PS103:19 for days, and now weeks. The God of angel armies is always by my side
