Lesson 7 - Psalm 46, He Just Is

As I write this we are searching for employment. Agonizingly slow describes the process well. Long periods of waiting, hoping, expecting, followed by brief moments of intense emotions up and down, left, right and even directions not yet defined.

To be clear, God Himself is caring for us day by day by day. Using sweet, generous people in our lives and unexpected circumstances, he provides our daily bread. We have not “trouble” as it were, but yet there lies such a need for a refuge and strength.

46:1 God is our refuge and strength,
a very present help in trouble.

GOD – It rightly starts with God and we should too. Not to be called upon for flashes of need, but steadily, faithfully trusted over time. This God, our God knows and our God cares. He is ABLE and He is WILLING.

IS – we have found Him to be these things, we are finding Him to be these things and we will find Him to be these things.  GOD IS our refuge and strength.

OUR – personal, approachable, relational, intimate.

REFUGE – a shelter, a place of safety, a place for weary travelers to rest and gain their footing again.

AND STRENGTH – that is not all, for when we are weak, when we have nothing left, GOD IS our refuge AND our STRENGTH.  In our weakness HIS strength is made perfect, and is already perfect, and is shown PERFECT.

A VERY PRESENT HELP IN TROUBLE – right now, not later, right where you are, right where I am, not when all is good again, God is a very PRESENT help in troubles of all sorts.

2 Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way,
though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea,
3 though its waters roar and foam,
though the mountains tremble at its swelling.

THEREFORE – all that precedes this word makes an impenetrable case, and all that comes after it matters not…WE WILL NOT FEAR.

Simply stated, take it to the bank; write it in stone; we will NOT fear BECAUSE GOD IS …

Lamentations 3:22-23

22 The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;
his mercies never come to an end;
23 they are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.

Exactly because God Himself is our refuge and strength, and we have counted on Him before and He has never left us stranded, because of His great faithfulness and His unending mercies, we will not fear.  This is a deep seated rest from fear.

Figuratively or literally, when earth gives way, like in earthquakes all around the globe or with volcanoes where parts of the world explode with fury, when mountains fall into the sea like the coastlines in the Western US in the rainy season, there is calamity.  When the waters foam with power of Hurricanes or Tsunamis, there is chaos.  If you are trusting in the world and all it has to offer, you will be rightly shaken when these things occur.  If you are looking for peace or freedom and escape from disasters in this world, you will be filled with fear.

But, if your treasures are in Heaven, and not of this world, if you seek God and the peace that passes all understanding, then you join together with the Psalmist, and with believers all over the land, and when the world’s troubles come to you, you and all of us together trust and hope in the Lord AND do NOT fear … because GOD IS …

4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
the holy habitation of the Most High.
5 God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved;
God will help her when morning dawns.

God is in the midst of this royal, Holy city. This is a place of beauty, a place of joy, a place of rest, a place of Grace.  For as the world and all that is in it roars and foams and falls, God’s gentle, merciful streams and rivers of Grace flow over us and into us, giving strength and hope for the journey ahead.  In Revelation we see that there will be a new Jerusalem, a new city and God will be there, where we see His favor, goodness, life nourishing power, brightness, beauty, we see and are in the very presence of God.   This is what that passage says –

Revelation 22:1-2

¹Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb ²down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. ³No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. ⁴They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads.

God is in the midst of her, central to the whole, providing all of the growth, nourishment and life needed so that she will not be moved.  Make no mistake, if God is in the midst of something or, better yet, someone like you or me, then that thing or that person is secure – period.

And God Himself will help when the morning dawns.  The morning, dawn, early, a critical time, the day starting out, a decision point – what will the day bring – and God is right there – “a very present help”

6 The nations rage, the kingdoms totter;
he utters his voice, the earth melts.

One of my favorite verses of all. Uproar around the world – bombings beyond explanation, moral compasses askew, new types of war, terrorism, upheaval, revolution, all out anarchy. The rulers of these lands rant and rave over what they will do, what power they have, little realizing that were it not for our God they would have no power or ability at all. Whether boasting and manipulating in Iran, stubbornness and stupidity and ego over nuclear weapons in Korea, or the ongoing tragedy day by day in Afghanistan, and certainly even here in the US, uprising, rebellion, protest and upheaval – uncertainty about our future political leadership, the economy and uncertainty about our future.

The nations rage, kingdoms totter, yes, and they will even more so as the time for His return approaches.  But yet, even thought it all happens, we take heart, with hope and joy, knowing that in the same way that He created all things –

1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.

Whether natural disaster or political, man made warring and tumult, when God utters His voice, the earth melts – HE IS IN CONTROL. 

7 The Lord of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.

A statement again that the Lord is with us, He is our fortress, our shield, our rock – a refuge from the storms and a stronghold that can not be overcome.

8 Come, behold the works of the Lord,
how he has brought desolations on the earth.

9 He makes wars cease to the end of the earth;
he breaks the bow and shatters the spear;
he burns the chariots with fire.

Come and see – an invitation!  He alone is sovereign.  Kingdoms are established and torn down, dynasties are built and uprooted, and authorities receive power and wither when stripped of that same power.

Hairs are all numbered, sparrows don’t even fall without Him knowing, all of our days are established before you were – all at the Holy Hand of God, and this God loves us and wants us to know Him

He loves us, in ultimate ways that we do not fully understand, ways which we do not deserve, merciful, tender, forgiving love. He showed us so clearly in Romans 5:8 –

8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

There is the Gospel, right there in Romans 5. God the Father sent God the Son to save sinners like you and like me. If we believe with our hearts and confess with our mouths we will be saved. You may have heard this before, and grown up with it simply assumed your whole life, but I am here to ask again today – do you BELIEVE IT?

And then the Psalm continues

10 “Be still, and know that I am God.

One of the most quoted, remembered, cherished verses in all of Christianity.

To those of us who BELIEVE, this is a call, a command, a hope, a promise, from the only One able to give such a promise – Be still – stop hurrying, stop worrying, stop thinking wrong, stop lamenting about hardships or concerns – be still and know, yes know, be certain, with hope, with faith, with joy, that He is God, that it matters, that it makes a difference, that you will be different!

I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth!”

Whether we acknowledge it or not God will be exalted – this is not wishy washy, this is not unsure, this is not a possibility – it is absolutely true.  It does occur, is occurring and will continue to occur for all of eternity. 

Make no mistake - every knee will bow, every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the Glory of the Father!  God will be exalted!

11 The Lord of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.

The promise again stated for emphasis – He is with us, God is our refuge and our strength, a very present help in trouble. 

Martin Luther, the great theologian and instigator of the Protestant movement when he pegged his 95 theses on the door at Wittenburg, said whenever he heard any discouraging news at all, he would say “come let us sing the forty-sixth Psalm”!

As I wrap up this lesson I know we all have moments of doubt and fear.  We wonder if God hears us, if He will answer, if we can trust Him. 

But, we are here to say YOU CAN TRUST HIM, He does hear, He does answer and GOD IS a very present help in trouble.