When I read this verse I can picture alpine streams ribboning through the sloping terrain.  Some of the water pools here and there in tranquil lakes where the land momentarily flattens out, some of it meanders even further, eventually reaching the ocean. I can picture a third grader’s water diagram on a worksheet with circular arrows drawn – how the water condenses, evaporates, becomes clouds, then rains again… the process repeats and repeats.

As I’m writing this blog, I’m sitting in a coffee shop on a rainy day (yep, it’s heaven on earth for an introverted writer…) Glancing over my caramel latte and the clusters of studying/chatting people around me, I can see the trickles of water on the glass. I confess the rain doesn’t seem miraculous at all.  The movement of water, albeit lovely and cozy, seems to be just a phenomenon of nature. 

But when I read this verse I am reminded that there’s more than science in play. The psalmist sees the movement of water as a loving Creator’s design – an “assignment” –  rather than just the hydrologic cycle at work. In fact, I’m reminded now that the movement of waters was pivotal in so many supernatural events of the Bible, landing a main character role in each of these miraculous stories:

• The great flood (Genesis 6-9)
• The parting of the Red Sea (Exodus 14)
• The parting of the Jordan River (Joshua 3)
• The drought and rains of Elijah’s time (1 Kings 18-19)
• Water from the rock (Exodus 17 and Numbers 20)
• Appearance of a spring for Samson (Judges 15)
• Jesus calming the storm (Matthew 8, Mark 4, Luke 8)
• …and many more!

So whether you read the verse in Psalm 104 about the waters “assignment”  as literal or figurative, there is plenty of other evidence that H20 molecules simply obey his command. And maybe this could be a picture of trust for us. 

God, if you assign places for the waters, how much more do you assign places for me? 

When I consider my placement – on the large scale (what country or state to live in), the smaller scale (my job, my residence, my church, my leadership roles or friendship groups), to the even smaller scale (the grocery store I’m in or the freeway I’m on) – I wonder, Lord, do you care where I end up?

I’m inclined to think you do. I’ve felt your direction at key intersections of my life. And it seems logical to me that if you move the waters from here to there – whether in in explainable scientific ways or inexplicable miraculous ones –  I don’t think it’s too much of a stretch to believe that it’s not an accident or by chance where I land and live and love on this earth. And I bet the people in my sphere have all been carefully, purposely placed too. That means the intersections of our paths have reason and meaning.

Lord, help me think of the carefree waters as I navigate my life. Fill my thoughts with images of the cloud by day and fire by night when I’m getting ready to move. When there’s a fork in the road, let me sing “I won’t move without you”. When my location is a source of frustration – a traffic jam, canceled flight, missed job opportunity, failed escrow – remind me that my placement isn’t up to chance. Let me trust you wholeheartedly, placing myself in your divine current, seeking your infinite wisdom about where I should be at any given moment.

Move me like you move the waters.

They don’t put up a fight or question their latitude and longitude. They don’t take forever to get going or spend time looking over their shoulder. They don’t worry whilst in transit. They flow freely into the space you have created for them, effortlessly navigating obstacles with a trusting forward momentum. Help me likewise see my placement, in large and small ways, as a divine assignment from my loving and all-knowing God. Amen!