I've always been drawn to the ocean. There's something about standing at the water's edge, watching waves roll in, that puts life in perspective. The ocean is beautiful and powerful and completely indifferent to my presence. I can't control it, can't predict it, can't do anything but witness its majesty.
Psalm 89:9 takes that imagery and flips my helplessness into hope: "You rule over the surging sea; when its waves mount up, you still them."
The psalmist isn't denying the power of the surging sea. He's not pretending waves don't mount up or that storms aren't dangerous. He's declaring that God rules over it all. The same God who spoke the oceans into existence still holds authority over every wave.
I think about the metaphorical waves in my own life - the ones that mount up when circumstances feel out of control. Health diagnoses. Relationship breakdowns. Financial pressure. Grief that crashes over me in unexpected moments. These aren't gentle ripples. They're mounting waves that threaten to pull me under.
Into that reality, this verse speaks truth: God rules over the surging sea. He doesn't just observe it from a safe distance. He doesn't sympathise while leaving me to swim on my own. He rules over it. And when waves mount up, He stills them.
Not always immediately. Not always in the way I'd choose. But He stills them because His authority is absolute.
I love the circular wave design we've paired with this verse. Circles have no end - they speak of God's eternal nature, His unchanging character. The waves that threaten me today are temporary. His sovereignty is forever.
If you're facing mounting waves right now - circumstances that feel too big, too powerful, too overwhelming - may this verse anchor you. You don't have to still the waves yourself. You can't. But God can, and God does, because He rules over every surging sea in your life.