Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“The voice of the Lord is over the waters . . .the Lord, over mighty waters. ”
NL Daily Devotion for Thursday, September 8, 2022
by Daniel D. Maurer, Clergy Stuff
A major theme in the Old Testament concerns itself with the establishment of order. However, it’s not the nit-picky, overly-defined order of something like a legal document. In Genesis, God commanded the watery chaos to divide into land and sky. In today’s psalm, the voice of the Lord thunders in all its majesty and power to rule over the flood, which is another image of chaos or disorder. We do not only need to look to sweeping landscapes to witness God’s supremacy over power, though.
Each of us can distinctly recall a time from our past when chaos seemed to rule. One relevant example from my own life was my addiction to drugs and alcohol. The pandemic of addiction continues to blaze across the modern world. Chaos seems supreme, invincible. I felt hopeless. I believe God made manifest the recovery I experienced only through the thunderous power of God’s commanding voice. Chaos would not rule; life-giving order would prevail.
Chaos keeps breaking in to my life; claim your rule over it and give me your order, O God. Amen.
Prayer concern: For those who feel tossed about.
