Psalms 46: Where to turn?
Have you ever been reflecting on events in the past and said, “Man I wish I would have handled that situation differently!” Growing up my parents would always say shoulda, coulda, woulda! Naturally at the time I had no idea what that meant. Since then, in my life, I have heard so many people lament on their past wishing that they had done things so much differently than they did. If we were to follow their line of thinking, we could waste our entire lives regretting the choices of our past while never realizing the full truth: God is with us and He intervenes on our behalf for the betterment of His kingdom.
I chose Psalm 46 because it is one of my favorite Psalms because I believe it to speak the words of Truth that God will never forsake us. If you would, follow along with me please.
Psalm 46
For the director of music. Of the Sons of Korah. According to alamoth A song.
1 God is our refuge and strength,
an ever-present help in trouble.
2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
3 though its waters roar and foam
and the mountains quake with their surging. Selah
4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
the holy place where the Most High dwells.
5 God is with in her, she will not fall;
God will help her at break of day.
6 Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall;
he lifts his voice, the earth melts.
7 The LORD Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah
8 Come and see the works of the LORD,
the desolations he has brought on the earth.
9 He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth;
he breaks the bow and shatters the spear,
he burns the shields with fire.
10 “Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth.”
11 The LORD Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah
Therefore, where do we turn in times when we feel low and starting singing our shoulda, coulda, woulda’s? In my studying of this passage, prayer and meditation are the keys to our relationship with God. We should pray faithfully, and faithfully pray.
Now, I do not mean that all of our prayers will be answered in the way we would like, but we need to pray with faith in God and pray often, that He knows best and will intervene on our behalf for the betterment of the kingdom now and always.
The second part of this answer is in meditation. In verse 10 the author writes “Be still and know that I am God.” When we pray and meditate, we are focusing on God. For example, this week for me has been very rough and very busy. On Friday, I started wondering when I was going to have the time necessary to devote to my sermon this week. I started praying that God would guide me because I knew that my weekend was full with very little free time, and the evenings after work were filled as well. I started to panic and worry over the lack of time I needed. Sometimes however, we cannot see the forest for the trees. That was when it hit me. As I read and studied over my favorite Psalm, I realized that this passage was exactly what I needed to hear in order to plan my sermon. In order to devote time to God throughout the week, we make time to pray and meditate on God’s word. God’s answer to my lack of time prayers was my answer to my sermon as well. God intervenes on our behalf for the betterment of the kingdom, now and always.
Verse 2 talks about not fearing, even if the earth breaks underneath us. Many times during our lives, it feels as if the earth is literally breaking and giving way underneath our feet. It is the old adage, “when it rains it pours,” or even “Murphy’s law.” Stuff, as we will call it, comes in droves at us. The evil one is close behind, trying to trip us up at every turn. However, God tells us not to fear. In verse 5, God answers us and tells us that He is with us and we will not fall, and that He will not forsake us. In verse 7 and again in verse 11, our answer abounds in that “The LORD Almighty is with us; and the God of Jacob is our fortress.” I am not a stickler for any one translation of the Bible, but in this instance, I like the KJV better because it states the word fortress as refuge. The author uses the Hebrew word misgab. In their day, Moab was an fortress seen as unable to be penetrated. In today’s ideas, Fort Knox is the same type of fortress; solid and secure. You see, the author is describing the Lord as somewhere safe and strong where we can go in our trouble.
We should never discount the power of God. He is more powerful and bigger than any problem we can ever face here on earth. It may be a little silly, but there is a Veggie Tales song called “God is Bigger,” and it is geared toward telling kids that God is bigger than anything they are scared of, (sing a bit of the song). In this instance, it works perfectly because, even though it is a childish sort of reference, it holds a lot of truth in it that God IS bigger than any problem we face. A verse that really personifies this is Matthew 19:26, which says, “26 Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” God IS. God will always be and because God knows you and loves you, He wants a relationship with you, which resulted in the person of Jesus. God intervened on our behalf through Christ to take our sins away. God wanted this relationship so badly, He was willing to send is Son to the world to be the ultimate sacrifice for all humanity.
Let me leave you with a few closing thoughts. God answers in big ways such as Christ for our salvation, but He also answers in subtle ways as well. We must take the time to pray and meditate, so that we can know that God IS and hear Him in His glory. This brings about the big idea for today. Pray faithfully and faithfully pray, for God is bigger than any problem we can face here on earth and He intervenes on our behalf for the betterment of the kingdom, now and always. Are you listening?
I chose Psalm 46 because it is one of my favorite Psalms because I believe it to speak the words of Truth that God will never forsake us. If you would, follow along with me please.
Psalm 46
For the director of music. Of the Sons of Korah. According to alamoth A song.
1 God is our refuge and strength,
an ever-present help in trouble.
2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
3 though its waters roar and foam
and the mountains quake with their surging. Selah
4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
the holy place where the Most High dwells.
5 God is with in her, she will not fall;
God will help her at break of day.
6 Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall;
he lifts his voice, the earth melts.
7 The LORD Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah
8 Come and see the works of the LORD,
the desolations he has brought on the earth.
9 He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth;
he breaks the bow and shatters the spear,
he burns the shields with fire.
10 “Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth.”
11 The LORD Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah
Therefore, where do we turn in times when we feel low and starting singing our shoulda, coulda, woulda’s? In my studying of this passage, prayer and meditation are the keys to our relationship with God. We should pray faithfully, and faithfully pray.
Now, I do not mean that all of our prayers will be answered in the way we would like, but we need to pray with faith in God and pray often, that He knows best and will intervene on our behalf for the betterment of the kingdom now and always.
The second part of this answer is in meditation. In verse 10 the author writes “Be still and know that I am God.” When we pray and meditate, we are focusing on God. For example, this week for me has been very rough and very busy. On Friday, I started wondering when I was going to have the time necessary to devote to my sermon this week. I started praying that God would guide me because I knew that my weekend was full with very little free time, and the evenings after work were filled as well. I started to panic and worry over the lack of time I needed. Sometimes however, we cannot see the forest for the trees. That was when it hit me. As I read and studied over my favorite Psalm, I realized that this passage was exactly what I needed to hear in order to plan my sermon. In order to devote time to God throughout the week, we make time to pray and meditate on God’s word. God’s answer to my lack of time prayers was my answer to my sermon as well. God intervenes on our behalf for the betterment of the kingdom, now and always.
Verse 2 talks about not fearing, even if the earth breaks underneath us. Many times during our lives, it feels as if the earth is literally breaking and giving way underneath our feet. It is the old adage, “when it rains it pours,” or even “Murphy’s law.” Stuff, as we will call it, comes in droves at us. The evil one is close behind, trying to trip us up at every turn. However, God tells us not to fear. In verse 5, God answers us and tells us that He is with us and we will not fall, and that He will not forsake us. In verse 7 and again in verse 11, our answer abounds in that “The LORD Almighty is with us; and the God of Jacob is our fortress.” I am not a stickler for any one translation of the Bible, but in this instance, I like the KJV better because it states the word fortress as refuge. The author uses the Hebrew word misgab. In their day, Moab was an fortress seen as unable to be penetrated. In today’s ideas, Fort Knox is the same type of fortress; solid and secure. You see, the author is describing the Lord as somewhere safe and strong where we can go in our trouble.
We should never discount the power of God. He is more powerful and bigger than any problem we can ever face here on earth. It may be a little silly, but there is a Veggie Tales song called “God is Bigger,” and it is geared toward telling kids that God is bigger than anything they are scared of, (sing a bit of the song). In this instance, it works perfectly because, even though it is a childish sort of reference, it holds a lot of truth in it that God IS bigger than any problem we face. A verse that really personifies this is Matthew 19:26, which says, “26 Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” God IS. God will always be and because God knows you and loves you, He wants a relationship with you, which resulted in the person of Jesus. God intervened on our behalf through Christ to take our sins away. God wanted this relationship so badly, He was willing to send is Son to the world to be the ultimate sacrifice for all humanity.
Let me leave you with a few closing thoughts. God answers in big ways such as Christ for our salvation, but He also answers in subtle ways as well. We must take the time to pray and meditate, so that we can know that God IS and hear Him in His glory. This brings about the big idea for today. Pray faithfully and faithfully pray, for God is bigger than any problem we can face here on earth and He intervenes on our behalf for the betterment of the kingdom, now and always. Are you listening?
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