The voice of the Lord is over the waters; the God of glory thunders, the Lord, over mighty waters. The voice of the Lord is powerful; the voice of the Lord is full of majesty. (Psalm 29:3-4)

One of my favorite book series is CS Lewis’ Crónicas de Narnia. If you’re unfamiliar with it, it’s a seven-book series that tells the story of a fairytale world called Narnia. In the book, a group of four children are in a country-home away from the bombings of World War II in London. While playing hide and seek one day, they stumble into a wardrobe and beyond the coats, beyond the walls, they find themselves in this magical world where fauns carry umbrellas, witches serve Turkish Delight, and beavers can talk. And there’s a lion. Early on in the book, the children are talking to the beavers and the beavers tell the children about Aslan, the king. The children are impressed until Mr. Beaver actually uses the word “lion” and then they’re nervous. That doesn’t sound safe.

“Safe?” said Mr. Beaver. “Don’t you hear what Mrs. Beaver tells you? Who said anything about safe? ‘Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the King, I tell you.”

I thought of that part of the story when I read Psalm 29. When I read Psalm 29, I hear the power of God – God’s voice alone is enough to bread cedars and make land skip like calves or dance like wild oxen. Wildernesses shake, oaks whirl, and all in the temple say “glory.” It’s a powerful image, reminding us how powerful God is. And looking at the verbs ascribed to God in Psalm 29, we may wonder, is God safe?

Not if we want to remain unchanged when we say “yes” to God.

Maravillarse es bueno. El asombro es una chispa que nos ayuda a acercarnos a Dios para conocerle mejor. Recordar lo poderoso que es Dios nos recuerda que debemos dejar espacio en nuestra fe para el asombro y la maravilla. Puede que las cosas no siempre sean cómodas - ¡elegir a Dios significa que nuestras vidas cambiarán! - pero Dios siempre es bueno.

God is good. All the time. And all the time? God is good. Stand in awe and stand in wonder. The God who rules over the heavens and the earth also rules over our lives with love, grace, and justice. And God invites us into the work, to be doers of the Word, to respond to His call with the courage to love deeply and act boldly. We serve a God who is sovereign over all creation, a God who reigns over the storm, who is present in the calm, and who is constantly working through us to bring light and love into the world. In the spirit of Psalm 29, may that give us strength and bring us peace.