IN TIME OF NEED
Consider one of the most powerful promises in all of God’s Word:
“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea…. Though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof…. There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of
What a marvelous word. I’ve read this passage over and over, dozens of times, and I’m still overwhelmed by it. God’s Word to us here is so powerful, so immovable, he tells us, “Never again do you need to fear. It doesn’t matter if the whole world is in turmoil. The earth may quake, the oceans may swell, the mountains may crumble into the sea. Things may be in complete chaos, a total uproar all around you.
“But because of my Word, you’ll have peace like a river. While all the nations rage, powerful steams of joy will flow to my people. It will fill their hearts with gladness.”
Right now, the whole world is in a fearful time. Nations are trembling over terrorism, knowing no region is immune to the threats. Personal troubles and sufferings are mounting. Yet, in the midst of it all, Psalm 46 echoes to God’s people the world over: “I am in your midst. I am with you through it all. My people will not be destroyed or moved. I’m going to be an ever-present help to my church.”
God knows we all face deep needs; we all encounter turmoil, temptations, times of confusion that cause our souls to quake. His message for us in Psalm 46 is meant for just such times. He is saying that if we give in to fear, becoming downcast and full of despair, we’re living absolutely contrary to his reality in our lives.
It’s vital that you grasp what the Lord is telling us in this Psalm. Our God is available to us at any time, day or night. He’s continually at our right hand, willing to speak to us and to guide us. And he’s made this possible by giving us his Holy Spirit to abide in us. The Bible tells us that Christ himself is in us, and we are in him.