He is Coming

August 25

Job 32-33

Psalm 96:7-13

Proverbs 21:7-8

2 Corinthians 13

He is Coming

“Say among the nations: ‘The Lord reigns. The world is firmly established; it cannot be shaken. He judges the peoples fairly.’ Let the heavens be glad and the Earth rejoice; let the sea and all that fills it resound. Let the fields and everything in them exult. Then all the trees of the forest will shout for joy before the Lord, for He is coming—He is coming to judge the Earth. He will judge the world with righteousness and the peoples with faithfulness.” Psalm 96:10-13 HCSB

The Lord reigns! God has established the Earth and everything in it is under His power and authority. It cannot be shaken. It is fixed and immovable. His sovereignty and power are not temporary and changing like the powers of this world. Governments and leaders come and go. World powers rise and fall, but God’s reign is eternal and firm. Nothing can remove Him from power and control. I love the imagery of the next verses. I imagine the sea and all its creatures shouting praises to God, the grass of the fields standing tall in praise, all the woodland animals joining in songs and the trees of the forests shouting for joy at the glory of God. Isaiah 55:12 tells us, “You will indeed go out with joy and be peacefully guided; the mountains and the hills will break into singing before You and all the trees of the field will clap their hands.” (HCSB) In Luke 19:40 Jesus says, “I tell you, if they were to keep silent, the stones would cry out.” (HCSB) Creation stands ready to praise its Creator. “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky proclaims the work of His hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they communicate knowledge.” Psalm 19:1 (HCSB) If we fail to proclaim the praises of our God, all of nature will declare it for us. As I am sitting here on my back porch writing this devotional, 2 deer wandered through my yard into the woods and I am listening to a crow, a woodpecker and a few other random birds singing. The trees are swaying in the wind, and I hear the sound of distant thunder. Creation is praising its Creator all around me. It would be easy to overlook and dismiss the sounds of nature instead of recognizing that all of nature is exulting God. If I fail to declare His glory, the deer and the birds will certainly proclaim His praises!

The next verse gives us a stark reminder that He is coming. We don’t know the day and hour, but He is coming back to judge the living and the dead. He will judge all the Earth with righteousness and faithfulness. He is the only One who is worthy to judge. He is the only One who is completely righteous and holy. He has the authority and the integrity to judge because He alone is holy and just. Not only is He righteous, but He is also faithful. He has never let us down. Even if we are faithless, He is always faithful. No matter how many times we let Him down by our sin and selfishness, He remains ever faithful.