“He changes times and seasons; he removes kings and sets up kings.”
Published March 24, 2026 | Current Events & Faith
The world is watching a narrow strip of water — just 21 miles wide at its tightest point — and holding its breath. The Strait of Hormuz, the vital maritime passage connecting the Persian Gulf to the open ocean, has become the most strategically consequential waterway on earth right now. For those of us who follow the news, the anxiety is real. But for those of us who follow Christ, there is something far more important to hold onto: God has not been caught off guard. Not for a single moment.
What Is Happening in the Strait of Hormuz?
On February 28, 2026, following coordinated U.S. and Israeli military strikes on Iran — including the killing of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei — Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) began issuing warnings that ship passage through the Strait of Hormuz was no longer permitted. By March 2, an IRGC official formally declared the strait “closed,” warning that any vessel attempting passage would be set ablaze. Since then, Iranian forces have carried out more than twenty confirmed attacks on merchant vessels.
The economic shockwave has been staggering. Roughly 20% of the world’s seaborne oil trade flows through this narrow channel — approximately 20 million barrels per day. Tanker traffic plummeted by approximately 70% almost immediately, and oil prices surged above $100 per barrel for the first time in four years, reaching a peak of $126 per barrel. Energy analysts have described it as the largest disruption to global energy supply since the 1970s oil crisis. Prices for aluminum, fertilizer, and natural gas have also spiked.
Iran’s new Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei — son of the slain Ali Khamenei — vowed in his first public statement that the blockade would continue, declaring: “The leverage of blocking the Strait of Hormuz must continue to be used.”He also urged Gulf states to expel American military bases from the region. As of this writing, the situation remains volatile, with diplomatic negotiations ongoing and President Trump issuing stern warnings of further military consequences if the strait is not reopened.
“Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and against his Anointed…”— Psalm 2:1–2 (ESV)
Nations Have Always Raged — and God Has Always Reigned
The psalmist’s opening question — Why do the nations rage? — is not a question born of confusion. It is a question born of holy wonder. The nations rage because they do not yet understand who sits enthroned above them. From Nebuchadnezzar’s empire to the Persian Gulf crisis of our day, history is one long, rolling demonstration that the plans of men are subject to the purposes of God.
The prophet Daniel, writing from captivity inside one of the most powerful empires the world had ever seen, declared something that the powerful Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar himself would eventually be humbled into confessing:
“He changes times and seasons; he removes kings and sets up kings; he gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding.”— Daniel 2:21 (ESV)
Notice what Daniel does not say. He does not say God responds to kings. He does not say God reacts to the movements of nations. He says God removes kings and sets up kings. The tense is active. The agency is divine. Every throne in human history — from ancient Persia to modern Tehran — exists within a universe where the Lord God Almighty is not scrambling to keep up.
The Sovereignty of God Over Strategic Chokepoints
It is worth pausing to sit with the geography of this moment. The Strait of Hormuz is 21 miles wide. Twenty-one miles separate the normal flow of global commerce from this current disruption. And yet the God who parted the Red Sea — who opened a path through water for His people and then closed it on Pharaoh’s army — is entirely unimpressed by a 21-mile strait.
The Old Testament is filled with God’s sovereignty over the very waterways, weather systems, and military chokepoints that humankind finds most terrifying. He dried up the Jordan River at flood stage so His people could cross on dry ground (Joshua 3). He sent storms and calmed them. He shut the mouths of lions and opened the wombs of the barren. Every “impossible” situation in Scripture is really just a canvas for the power of the One who created the seas in the first place.
“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling.”— Psalm 46:1–3 (ESV)
The mountains trembling at swelling seas. How vivid. How current. The psalmist did not write in abstraction — he wrote from the marrow of human experience, from those moments when the earth beneath you seems to be giving way. And yet the declaration stands: God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
What Faithful, Unafraid Living Looks Like Right Now
None of this means we look away from the world. Quite the opposite. Christians who believe in the sovereignty of God are freed to engage reality with clear eyes — because we are not trusting in the strength of navies or the diplomacy of presidents. We can look at a strait choked with drone strikes and surging oil prices and say: I see this. I am watching. And I know who holds the future.
For those of us with homesteads, gardens, and orchards — those of us who already think about fuel costs, fertilizer prices, and food security — this moment is both a practical alert and a spiritual invitation. The spike in fertilizer prices connected to this crisis is not just an economic headline; it is a reminder of why the Lord placed within many of His people a desire for rooted, land-based provision. Preparing wisely is not faithlessness. Stockpiling out of panic is. The difference is where your heart is anchored.
“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on… But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”— Matthew 6:25, 33 (ESV)
★ Faithful Living in Uncertain Times — Practical Applications
- Pray specifically. Name the nations in conflict. Pray for the sailors caught in this crisis — many of whom are Indian, Filipino, Thai, and Pakistani workers far from home. Five crew members have already lost their lives. Pray for leaders on all sides to seek peace.
- Prepare wisely, not fearfully.Rising fuel and fertilizer costs are real. Build your garden, tend your orchard, and stock your pantry as acts of faithful stewardship — not as acts of fear.
- Read Scripture over the news. Let God’s Word be the last thing you read at night and the first in the morning. The news will spike your cortisol. The Word will anchor your soul.
- Talk to your children about God’s sovereignty. These are remarkable teachable moments. World events become discipleship opportunities when filtered through the lens of faith.
- Hold your opinions about earthly powers loosely. Nations rage. Leaders fall. Only one King reigns forever. Keep your ultimate allegiance rightly ordered.
He Who Sits in the Heavens Laughs
The second Psalm, after describing the raging of kings and rulers conspiring against God, says something that should stop every anxious heart in its tracks:
“He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in derision. Then he will speak to them in his wrath, and terrify them in his fury, saying, ‘As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill.’”— Psalm 2:4–6 (ESV)
The laughter of God here is not cruelty — it is the laughter of absolute, unshakeable confidence. The most powerful nations on earth, with all their missiles and drones and diplomatic leverage, are doing nothing that falls outside the sovereign plan of the One who set His King — Jesus Christ — upon the eternal throne. The Strait of Hormuz is not outside His jurisdiction. The IRGC is not outside His sight. The price of oil is not outside His knowledge. And your household, your family, your future — none of it is outside His care.
This does not mean the suffering isn’t real. The sailors who have been killed in these attacks are real men with real families. The economic pain spreading across the globe will touch real households. We grieve what is grievous. But we grieve as those who have hope — anchored hope, not wishful thinking — because our God reigns.
A Word to the Watchful
If you are someone who watches the world closely — who tracks geopolitics, who understands supply chains and energy markets, who pays attention — let me say this: your watchfulness is a gift when it is submitted to faith. The same instinct that leads you to read about the Strait of Hormuz should lead you to your knees. The same mind that can trace the economic ripple effects of a blockade can also trace the fingerprints of Providence through history.
We are not called to be naive. We are called to be unafraid. There is a world of difference.
“The Lord sits enthroned over the flood; the Lord sits enthroned as king forever. May the Lord give strength to his people! May the Lord bless his people with peace!”— Psalm 29:10–11 (ESV)
The Lord sits enthroned over the flood. Over every flood — literal and geopolitical, economic and personal. His throne is not shaken by the news cycle. And in His enthroned position, He turns to His people and gives not anxiety, but strength. Not confusion, but peace.
That is our inheritance, church. That is who we are and whose we are. Let us live accordingly — with our eyes open, our hearts anchored, and our knees on the floor.
▶ A Prayer for Our Nation and Our World
Heavenly Father, Sovereign Lord of all creation —
We come before You in a moment of global uncertainty, and we confess what is most true: You are not uncertain. You are not watching the news to see what happens next. You are not pacing heaven in worry over the Strait of Hormuz or the movements of nations. You sit enthroned in absolute authority, and every king and every commander operates within boundaries You have set.
Lord, we lift up the families of the sailors who have lost their lives in these attacks. Comfort those who grieve. We pray for the nations tangled in this conflict — for wisdom to prevail, for ceasefire to come, for the peace that only You can provide to break through the pride of men. We pray especially for the people of Iran, that Your light would pierce through the darkness of oppressive rule, and that many would come to know You as Savior and Lord.
For our own hearts, Father — guard us against fear. Guard us against the kind of anxious scrolling that substitutes news consumption for prayer. Remind us daily that You are our refuge and our very present help in trouble. Teach us to prepare wisely without preparing fearfully. Teach us to watch the world with clear eyes and to filter everything we see through the lens of Your Word.
We trust You with the strait. We trust You with the oil prices and the supply chains and the uncertain days ahead. We trust You with our families, our homesteads, our communities, and our nation. Because You, O Lord — You alone — sit enthroned forever.
In the matchless and mighty name of Jesus Christ, our King and our coming Lord —
Amen.
To God be all the Glory,
T
Sources & Further Reading
- Wikipedia. “2026 Strait of Hormuz Crisis.” Updated March 24, 2026. en.wikipedia.org
- Bloomberg. “Strait of Hormuz: How Iran Is Blocking Route as Trump Extends Deadline to Reopen.” March 23, 2026. bloomberg.com
- NPR. “How Traffic Dried Up in the Strait of Hormuz Since the Iran War Began.” March 4, 2026. npr.org
- Congressional Research Service / Congress.gov. “Iran Conflict and the Strait of Hormuz: Impacts on Oil, Gas, and Other Commodities.” March 2026. congress.gov
- TIME. “Iran’s New Supreme Leader Vows Revenge, Will Keep Blocking Strait of Hormuz.” March 12, 2026. time.com
- Al Jazeera. “Strait of Hormuz: Which Countries’ Ships Has Iran Allowed Safe Passage To?” March 16, 2026. aljazeera.com
- Al Jazeera. “Iran Says It Will Allow Japanese Ships to Transit the Strait of Hormuz.” March 21, 2026. aljazeera.com
- The Washington Institute. “Military Options for Reopening the Strait of Hormuz: Limitations and Imperatives.” March 2026. washingtoninstitute.org
- Wikipedia. “Strait of Hormuz.” Updated March 24, 2026. en.wikipedia.org
- All Scripture quotations are from the English Standard Version (ESV), Crossway, 2001.
Divine Revelations 
Leave a comment