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Mudslides and Terra Firma

Most of us, without much consideration assume that the ground that we stand on is secure. As we continue to hear the reports coming out of Washington state we are reminded that even the ground itself is not stable. As of today there are 14 people dead and nearly 200 missing as a result of a massive mudslide in Snowhomish County, Washington.

The stories and interviews are heart-wrenching. Surprising tragedies like this shake us. If the ground itself is not stable, what is?


The Psalmist wrote to a people who were familiar with tragedies and various disasters. In effort to encourage them he pointed them back to the Scriptures, the terra firma, or firm ground.

“Forever, O Lord, your word is firmly fixed in the heavens.” (Psalm 119:89)

This “fixing” means to be set, secured or stand. It is also used to speak of the boundaries of the earth being fixed (Ps. 74:17) or of the waves standing up at the blast of God’s “nostrils” in Ex. 15:8. The point is the Word of God is fixed. And the fact that God does it means that the Word of God has divine power in its placement. There is no one more powerful than God that can remove it from its spot of its standing place. Furthermore, it is free from others being able to assault or destroy it–it is fixed in the heavens. This means that all of the uncertainty, changes, surprises and other tragic events that so characterize our world–they cannot usurp the status of the Scriptures. Finally, this divine fixing is “forever.” As it has been it will forever be. As Jesus said, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away” (Matthew 24:35).

The application that comes out of this truth, and especially so in light of the tragic mudslide in Washington state, is that the Word of God is more secure than the very ground we stand on. It has been this way and it will be so forever. Stand confidently on terra firma!

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