Psalm 29:11 (NIV)
“The LORD gives strength to his people; the LORD blesses his people with peace.”
Psalm 29 presents God in terms David’s world could grasp: crashing seas, towering mountains, mighty forests, and the memory of the Flood itself. These were not poetic exaggerations to ancient readers; they were the largest, most untamable realities they knew. By invoking them, David is not trying to make God feel comforting or relatable—he is emphasizing God’s overwhelming power and authority.
That perspective matters. We are prone to interpret life as though our immediate problems sit at the center of the universe. Psalm 29 dismantles that illusion. God’s voice thunders over oceans, strips forests bare, and shakes mountains. He remains enthroned and fully in control. Creation responds instantly to His authority, while human anxiety often assumes He is distracted or distant.
And yet, this is where the Psalm becomes deeply personal. The same God whose voice commands the waters is not indifferent to His people. David ends the Psalm by reminding us that this mighty King gives strength to His people and blesses them with peace. God’s greatness does not diminish His care; it magnifies it.
Worship, then, is not primarily about what God does for us, but about who He is. When we lift our eyes to His majesty—seen in oceans, mountains, and skies far older and larger than ourselves—our problems are rightly resized. They do not disappear, but they no longer dominate. God remains vast, sovereign, and enthroned, and somehow still attentive to the details of our lives.
That truth invites a quieter confidence: our troubles are not ultimate, but God is.