About a month ago I was listening to a podcast. Right in the middle of the conversation I heard the voice of the podcaster change, I could hear fear and worry. He hesitated and finally was able to communicate that he was experiencing an earthquake (he was located in San Fransisco). He did not shut down the podcast but waited to see the magnitude of it. Thankfully, it was not a severe quake, he said things around him rattled a bit, but nothing that was substantial. The fear in his voice is what struck me, because he had no idea what was going to happen.
This experience of listening to the podcaster while he was experiencing an earthquake came to mind as I was reading the verses for today in Psalms 75. Two verses in particular stood out to me.
“When I choose a time, I will judge fairly. When the earth and all its inhabitants shake, I am the one who steadies it pillars.
Psalms 75:2-3
These verses reveal that God is in absolute control over the world. If God chose, that earthquake could have been worse and I cannot imagine what I might have heard on that podcast. The two verses above make it clear that God will judge the world and every person in it. But, we can take heart because, God is near.
We give thanks to you, God, we give thanks to you, for your name is near. People tell about your wondrous works.
Psalms 75:1
Why give thanks to God when all the world is shaking and feels out of control? Because, His name is near. He is not far off, even when it feels as though He is. He promised that He will never leave us or forsake us (Deuteronomy 31:6).
The problem is that we are often the ones who are distant from Him. It can happen so easily. We can be distant because of sin or when we become distracted by things of this world. We lose our focus on God and put it all on ourselves and what we are facing. Thankfully we have a promise in the New Testament,
Come near to God and He will come near to you.
James 4:8
Even when the world is in shatters around us. The Lord confirms that He is in control and that He is near. We have to reach out and acknowledge Him. We do that through talking to Him. His name is Near.