Psalm 46
God is our refuge and strength,
an ever-present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
though its waters roar and foam
and the mountains quake with their surging.
There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
the holy place where the Most High dwells.
God is within her, she will not fall;
God will help her at break of day.
Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall;
he lifts his voice, the earth melts.
The Lord Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.
Come and see what the Lord has done,
the desolations he has brought on the earth.
He makes wars cease
to the ends of the earth.
He breaks the bow and shatters the spear;
he burns the shields with fire.
He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth.”
The Lord Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.
I’m not a big country music fan but I do occasionally
listen to country tunes. It seems to me that a lot of country music songs are
about trouble. Someone ran off with someone’s girlfriend; someone lost a job; someone’s dog got hit by a pick-up
truck...and on and on it goes.
County song writers are just
writing songs about what we all know is true; trouble is part of life.
In Job 5:7 we read:
Yet man is born for trouble as
sparks fly upward.
My cell phone buzzed just as I
started writing today’s
installment of “10 Minutes with God.” The
voice on the other end of the call relayed news of a family facing a very
troubling time. The trouble was not an atomic bomb or some kind of national
crisis; it was trouble much more personal and much more devastating than any
physical bomb.
When the ancient psalm writer
faced trouble, he wrote:
God is our refuge and strength,
an ever-present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
though its waters roar and foam
and the mountains quake with their surging.
Yesterday I mentioned that this
psalm was likely written in the context of the nation facing a powerful enemy.
We can also apply the psalmists words to our more personal battles.
Week after week I hear of people
facing battles like cancer; depression; unemployment; bankruptcy; addiction;
divorce. Where do we turn when trouble strikes near?
God is within her, she will not fall;
God will help her at break of day.
Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall;
he lifts his voice, the earth melts.
The Lord Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.
The psalm is telling us there are
two promises that we can hang on to in our times of trouble.
First, the Lord Almighty is with
us. One of the things that trouble of pain does is make us feel very alone or
even abandoned. Notice the psalm says that God is our “ever-present help” in
times of trouble. Even though we may feel isolated and alone, God does not
abandon us. He is present to us even in our trouble.
Second, scripture teaches “the God of Jacob is our fortress.” A fortress is that which protects and provides safety
from the enemy. I think the writer is thinking more here about spiritual safety
than physical safety. God is the fortress of our hearts.
The Apostle Paul teaches that God
protects our hearts through prayer.
Do not be
anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with
thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which
transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ
Jesus. Philippians
4:6-7
Are you facing
some kind of trouble or pain today? Remember that God is with you and that
Christ himself stands guard over your heart!
Lord,
Remind me by
your Spirit that you do not abandon me in the midst of my troubles. Remind me
that you are the fortress of my heart. Amen.
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