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

 
We are living in dark days for this world. So much of what we hear and see going on around us could strike fear into anyone’s heart. And it seems to be getting worse and more intense (though God’s children are standing stronger). The stakes are higher, persecution of Christians has been on the rise, and our very fundamental freedoms are at risk.

Sometimes, it seems like it is so easy to go through life working through problems on the outside, handling our jobs, taking care of our families, worrying about the events unfolding around us. Sometimes it seems like I’ve gotten so focused on surface things – duties, problems, needs, projects, people, worries, etc. – that I’ve forgotten to remember who God is.

“Well, we know who God is!” you say? Do we? Do we always remember Who we serve? Do we remember His power, His majesty, His might – His presence?

Do I remember I serve the Lord of Hosts who made the land and the seas, formed the mountains and set the sun, moon, and stars in their courses? The same God who made the sun stand still for Joshua, who personally defended his people from their enemies as they sang praises to Him going into battle, who brought a baby in a basket on a crocodile-infested river to safety, who held back the rain at the word of His prophet for three years and brought it back again when he prayed, and who helped a simple fisherman walk on water?

Those are more than just words. As I am still and think of those and many other amazing wonders that God has done, I remember the reality of Who God is.

We as God’s children truly have nothing to fear. This world will get darker – God told us that it would be as the days of Noah before Jesus returns again. There will be trials and tribulations, but GOD is our Refuge! We DO serve the same God Who has performed countless miracles, answered countless prayers, and directs the courses of nations and kings whether they believe it or not. Truly we can say,

“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 waters thereof roar and be troubled,
though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof. Selah.” Psalm 46:1-4

Yes, times will be and are troubled. There will be natural disasters and plagues and famine, but as God’s children, we can rejoice that our Lord is coming! We can have peace knowing that our Mighty God is our shield and our help.

“There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the most High. God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved: God shall help her, and that right early. The heathen raged, the kingdoms were moved: he uttered his voice, the earth melted. The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.” Psalm 46:4-7 (emphasis added)

We do not fear; God is our refuge.

— B. Payne