Quakes

“God says, “At the time I have planned, 
I will bring justice against the wicked. 
When the earth quakes and its people live in turmoil, 
I am the one who keeps its foundations firm.”
Psalms‬ ‭75:2-3‬ ‭NLT‬‬

God speaks. And the Psalmist records what He says. And it’s good news. God says that regardless of what is going on in the world He is keeping “its foundations firm”. 

In Glasgow we are about to hold the UN Climate Change Conference, “COP26”. And Scotland will be full of people who sincerely believe that mankind is destroying the world through carbon emissions. Trashing the planet with the excessive use of fossil fuels, that release carbon dioxide back into the atmosphere. And they claim that otherwise avoidable climate change will result. But we have a situation where nations are reluctant to reverse the juggernauts of their economies today, thereby reducing the standard of living for their people, all for the sake of the world in a few decades time. So there will be much talk, press releases, claim and counter claim, and, if previous such conferences are anything to go by, little or insufficient progress made towards the goal of significantly reducing carbon dioxide emissions. And adding to the mix we have the climate change deniers who dispute the science being quoted in the first place.

But in this Psalm God is setting different priorities. First of all He has a plan. Regardless of all the planning mankind gets up to, God’s plan will prevail. It has to. After all He created the world in the first place. Secondly, He is more concerned about the morals of mankind than the nations are. At the appointed time, He is going to “bring justice against the wicked”. If I was a godless person on the planet today reading this Psalm, I think I would be getting worried and instead be wondering about my priorities in life. And thirdly, in a world experiencing earthquakes and social turmoil, instead of fretting around the edges, I should perhaps be getting close to the One who is holding all things together, keeping the “foundations firm”.

Imagine a world where everyone counted themselves among God’s People. I think the impact would have been such that the aims and goals of COP26 would have been realised a long time ago, in a world going God’s way rather than the way of the wicked.