Last weekend I stood in the main street of Mannum. I was standing on dry ground alongside a reinforced, yet seemingly narrow, levee wall, the other side of which the waters of the River Murray were flowing through shops and homes, the level above my head. I had an awesome sense of the power of the flood waters.
The Psalm writer says, “The floods have lifted up, O Lord, the floods have lifted up their voice; the floods have lifted up their roaring” (Ps 93:3). This meant not only literal floods, but also the “sea of troubles” we know in life – e.g., suffering, misfortune, attack from enemies, and our sin and brokenness. All these things can threaten to overwhelm us.
Jesus and Paul speak of His death on the cross as a “baptism” (Mk 10:38; Ro 6: 3,4); Jesus entered the flood, our ultimate “sea of troubles”, and those “waters” claimed His life. He did that to pay for our sins and forgive us. Then He rose from the dead to secure us as God’s children in resurrection life forever. If we believe in Him, nothing can ever snatch us out of His hand! (Ro 8:31-38)
This is how the Lord proves Himself to be greater and more powerful than any flood (Ps 93:4; 29:10). This means that Jesus saves us through and from every conceivable flood, whether of water or sin or death. Trust Him, and He will lift you above them!
Grace and life, Jonathan