One of the many, tedious steps in the home-buying process is obtaining a flood zone disclosure. It stands to reason that you wouldn’t want to purchase a house that sits on the bank of a river that often overflows.

Or, maybe you would.

After all, Galveston Bay is full of houses on stilts so that their owners can have a view of the water. From South Texas to the Florida Keys, entire cities were built in a flood zone. The scenic view is lovely, but we need only think back a few years to Hurricane Katrina for a stark reminder that the placid ocean can turn into a violent monster in a matter of hours. We shouldn’t judge anyone who lives in an oceanfront home, but the point is that the nice view comes with a big risk.

Psalm 124 compares Israel’s enemies to raging flood waters. It talks about being swept away by the gale, yet God intervened and protected the Israelites – just like he had time and time before. They cried out, and he rescued. They got into trouble of their own making, and he came to their aid. Like the new Lake Borgne surge reduction barrier (a two-mile wide wall of steel and concrete) that was constructed to help protect New Orleans from future hurricanes, the Lord guarded the Israelites.

Isn’t it wonderful to know that even when we drift into the risky flood zones of our own lives, God doesn’t give up on us?