Are you going through something right now?
Maybe it's political stress. Perhaps a health crisis. Economic stress weighing you down and causing you worry? Or, what may be even worse, your children are going through something hard that you can't fix.
What is stealing your sleep? What is robbing your joy? What's gobbling up your headspace? What is it that is threatening you?
Is the earth underneath you shaking? Do you feel like your life is on the edge of a cliff in a mudslide? Do you feel like you're in a wave pool or sea and timing every wave wrong so that whenever you need a breath you get dowsed instead?
If your world is all as it should be, then good for you. You can stop reading or you can save this for a future need, but this post is for those who are in a bind. This, based on Psalm 46, is for those of us who need help.
Look at Psalm 46 and be encouraged:
"God is our refuge and strength,
a very present help in trouble." Psalm 46:1
I love this verse. I have been reading through the psalms this year and 19 days ago I read this and it has stuck with me and I am glad for this.
Do you need help? God is your help!
God is our refuge. He is the tank we can be safe in as we go through the battles of life. He is the brick house, not a house of straw or sticks. He is our strength. When I am weak, He is strong.
And my favorite part: God is a very present help in trouble.
When you are going through the junk of life and need help He isn't just there He is VERY there. Are you in trouble and need help? God is not just with you, He is very with you. He's not just with you; He is there to help. Help isn't on the way; help is very there!
The ESV is what I quoted above. The NASB says God is a, "very ready help." The NIV says He is an, "ever present help." Put these together and this is God: He is very there, very ready and, in fact, He was always there even before you shouted for help.
Why do I harp on God being VERY present? Too often I pray to God like I talk to an imaginary friend. I must take this verse to heart and believe it to be true and act accordingly. God isn't an idea, He is my refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. He actually, honestly, truthfully and very much is with me and you in our trouble.
So, what do we do in light of this truth?
"Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way,
though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea,
though the mountains tremble at its swelling." Psalm 46:2-3
God is our tank in the battle, so we roll forward unafraid. God is our strength, so we don't act as though impotent but we act in light of the omnipotent power source we possess. God is very much with us in the trouble, so we just ain't afraid.
When we understand verse 1 we can live verse 2. This isn't just poetry. This isn't just a song. This is really, truly who our God is. He is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
Go back to that thing that you said was bothering you, was tormenting you, was threatening you, was snatching your sleep. It. Is. Real. But so, and even more so, is your God and Savior. Meditate on that truth.
Let's turn now to the end and let it be our benediction and prayer:
"'Be still, and know that I am God.
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth!'
The LORD of host is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress." Psalm 46:10-11
The sons of Korah, the writers of this song, leave us with two reminders and so will I.
1) The God of angel armies is with us.
2) The God who loves cheating scoundrels like Jacob is our protection.
And the final word of the psalm is Selah. Selah is a Hebrew musical term that likely means rest or pause. So, selah. Know this beautiful truth, meditate on it and then rest in it. Rest. Lean into this wonderful truth about your very there God and relax today.
