The voice of the Lord flashes forth flames of fire.

The voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness;
    the Lord shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.

The voice of the Lord makes the deer give birth
    and strips the forests bare,
    and in his temple all cry, “Glory!”

Psalm 29:8-9

The spray of rain smacked me across the face as the brief flash of lightning illuminated the trees in the open field. I turned to my fellow storm watchers who immediately acknowledged receiving the same slap of water. 

We all returned focus to the pecan trees lined out beyond the fence. The darkness flickered on and off like a child playing with the light switch in his bedroom. Lights on—the trees a film negative—glowed momentarily. I blinked rapidly trying to see clearly through the waves of rain. 

Staring hard, it almost looked like a figure walking across the field. Another flash and the trees were just trees weathering a powerful storm. The changes in lighting gave the illusory quality of movement, but letting my eyes wander up the trunks made clear the obvious and somewhat violent movement of their branches. The groaned as they fought to stay straight in the unrelenting winds. 

A loud CRACK of thunder made all of us jump and shudder and then cheer. The power was inspiring and humbling. Still we wanted to witness more of it. It was like this precipice of admiring the power of what we saw and yet fearfully forging ahead as we wondered what could happen. 

I recalled stories about giant limbs that peel off or entire trees that are upended and someone sleeping unsuspecting in their home is killed. Power lines are taken down and people struggle in the dark, food supplies are destroyed. Fires are started. Property is destroyed. People drown. 

The what-if’s alone could pull you under.

It is easy to get lost in all the ways things could go wrong.

It is a fearful thing to see that kind of power on display—one of those times that we tiny people get a small glimpse of God’s power and authority. There is no questioning it then and there is really no right response apart from worship and awe. 

The words of Psalm 29 so beautifully articulate the power behind the voice of God—shaking the wilderness, making deer give birth and eliciting the response from his people, “Glory!” 

The people crying glory in the temple in Psalms were witnessing his power and instead of being fearful (or as a result of) they worshiped. 

My brain began playing the Newsboys song “He Reigns” on repeat. The chorus says that all God’s children are singing, “Glory, glory, hallelujah, He reigns, He reigns.” And then the verse brings the comfort that comes from that adulation, from that surrender to the right response:

“And all the powers of darkness

Tremble at what they’ve just heard

Cause all the powers of darkness

Can’t drown out a single word”

The what-if’s, the real life struggles can no doubt pull us under, but the darkness will never drown out the worship of God’s people. People submitting fully to God and the work He is doing, the way He is doing it, are unstoppable. They are covered and protected by the Creator who has a voice that literally breaks trees in half. 

Isaiah 43 echoes that sentiment as it reassures even those who had previously turned away that God is currently wooing. God calls and saves and protects his people. Verses one and two leave no doubt:

“But now thus says the Lord,
he who created you, O Jacob,
    he who formed you, O Israel:
‘Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
    I have called you by name, you are mine.

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
    and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;
when you walk through fire you shall not be burned,
    and the flame shall not consume you.’”

Whatever the seemingly insurmountable obstacle or destructive force in the path ahead, they are no match for the One who created the fire, who shakes the wilderness. 

Instead of wondering what could happen, what we are afraid of happening, I think it is time to wonder what could happen if we were following this mighty God in the way that He calls us to. If instead of being fearful of the negative consequences of power, we can imagine the things He can and will do with power that dwarfs these things. 

We do not have to stand out unprotected from the storm. We have the Covering that God provided. If we focus out among the trees, there is One walking who walked on waves in the storm, who can stop the storm with a word.

I daresay that if our focus and worship are directed towards him, we can also cry “Glory!” even while the storm rages.