Who Owns the Earth-And Everything in It?
A Psalm 24 Wake-Up Call 🌍
Reading Psalm 24 this morning reminded me of my walk with Christ. Over the many years I’ve been following Him, my heart and soul have undergone radical changes. But there’s one area of transformation that might seem odd at first — and it deeply connects with this psalm:
How I see the earth.
One day, I just decided to go a little further and pick up trash. Not for show. No one was watching. But it just it felt right. Now, every time I do it — even in the most random places — I say aloud:
“This is Your earth, God. Thank You for it.” 🙏
And even more unexpectedly… I stopped being so quick to kill bugs. 🐞
Now don’t get me wrong — I’m not anti-hunting. In fact, I’d love to learn how to bow hunt. I believe God has provided animals for food, for us to shepherd, and for enjoyment. But something changed in me. A reverence. A shift in how I view creation. 🌱
Where did this come from?
We find the answer right here in Psalm 24:
“The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it,
the world and all who live in it;
for He founded it upon the seas
and established it upon the waters.” (Psalm 24:1–2) 📖
The Creator King 👑
This psalm opens like a royal decree. A declaration sung in the temple during David’s time — perhaps even weekly. Before the gates are flung open to welcome God’s presence (later in the psalm), the people would be reminded:
He owns it all. ✨
Not just Israel. Not just Jerusalem. Not just your corner of influence.
Everything.
And He’s not a regional god like the pagan idols of the time — confined to hills, trees, or stone statues.
He is the King of the universe. Sovereign over all. 🌌
This was a huge mental shift for the original audience — and it still is for us today.
Cosmic Kingship Leads to Personal Holiness 🔥
Verse 1 tells us what He owns.
Verses 3–6 tell us who can approach Him.
“Who may ascend the hill of the Lord?
Who may stand in His holy place?” (v.3)
Only the one with clean hands (a pure life) and a pure heart (right motives). ✋❤️
Only the one who doesn’t lift their soul to idols or swear deceitfully.
This hits different when you realize:
We live in His world.
We wake up on His land.
We breathe His air.
That means approaching Him isn’t casual. It’s covenantal. 🤝
It demands an honest heart, surrendered, and seeking.
What Do You See on Sundays? ⛪
Here’s the honest question Psalm 24 asks us:
How do you approach God?
Do you walk into Sunday gatherings with reverence?
Do you see worship marked by awe, surrender, and holy fear?
(Not fear of rejection — but a trembling awe that this God invites us near.)
I’m not trying to guilt you into raising your hands.
I’m trying to invite you into something deeper.
The God of the universe — the One who commands galaxies — wants relationship with you. 🌌❤️
Not surface-level.
Not religious box-checking.
But a deep, wholehearted devotion that can withstand cancer, survive battlefield trauma, and walk through rejection and failure without breaking.
He wants to walk with you every single day — in the mess, the noise, the silence, the stress.
“Ask, and you will find. Knock, and the door will be opened.” (Matt. 7:7) 🔓
But many of us… we don’t knock. We just scroll.
We see an unlocked door, and an unsought Savior.
Let’s Be That Generation 🕊️
Psalm 24:6 declares:
“Such is the generation of those who seek Him, who seek Your face, O God of Jacob.”
Let’s be that generation.
A generation of men and women who seek Him personally and daily.
Because when personal revival happens, community transformation always follows. 🌎✨
There’s no secret sauce to revival.
It starts with you. And me. On our knees. In the Word. Before dawn. On the run. At the sink. On the commute. 🏃♂️📖🕯️
One generation seeking His face will shake the foundations of culture.
A Longing for Home 🏡
The more time you spend in personal devotion, the more you’ll feel this ache — a holy homesickness.
It’s the tension of living in the world but not being of it.
Don’t resist that longing. Lean into it.
“Our citizenship is in heaven.” (Phil. 3:20)
And if you don’t know where to begin? Just ask Him.
He delights to lead you. 🙏
Never Finished Challenge ✅
Every morning this week, when you sit on the edge of your plush mattress or floor or whatever your body is lying on:
Say Psalm 24:1–2 aloud.
“The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it…” 🌍
Open your hands and pray:
“I give up my right to have my way today.” ✋
Choose surrender in small things:
Don’t win the argument.
Don’t chase the last word.
Don’t retaliate when someone cuts you off. 🚗
Instead — pray for them.
Bless them.
Celebrate that you have a relationship with the Sovereign King of the Universe — more intimate than any earthly connection you’ll ever know.
What does today say about God? 🌟
Psalm 24 shouts it loudly and clearly:
The King of Glory. The Lord strong and mighty. The Lord mighty in battle. ⚔️
Lift up your heads, O gates… that the King of Glory may come in! 👑
There’s no debate over who owns the earth.
No argument about who rules the nations.
No question about who made you.
From Genesis to Revelation, the answer is the same:
Yahweh reigns. Jesus reigns. 🔥
And in Him, we’re invited into the most secure, wild, intimate friendship imaginable.
What a God.
What a King.
What a Friend.
Thank You, Jesus. ✝️