“From Present Distress to God's Presence”

Tuesday, April 11, 2023

BIBLE READING: Psalm 46

How would you feel if the ground beneath your feet started giving way? What if you looked out the window and things were crashing down around you because of the quakes? What if even a giant mountain in the distance was starting to crumble from its very foundations? This is definitely not a picture of peace.

When natural disasters occur, we see chaos and instability. These are forces beyond our control. And yet Psalm 46.1 states, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” The juxtaposition of God’s presence with earthly chaos takes us back to the scene of Genesis 1 where God brought order to the chaos with just a word (Genesis 1.2-3). With power and simplicity, God made things “good”. In similar fashion, Jesus spoke a word and calmed the storm his disciples thought would kill them (Matthew 8.23-27; Mark 4.36-41; Luke 8.22-25). They rightly asked, “Who then is this, that he commands even winds and water, and they obey him?” (Luke 8.25).

We fear what we cannot control, and yet God is consistently revealed as One who both controls and commands the natural world. “He utters his voice, the earth melts” (Psalm 46.6). No human kingdom or force can compare to God’s sovereignty. Even the greatest kingdoms, as stable as they may seem, totter and come to an end; But God is not moved (46.5-6). In fact, he is often the source of their failing (46.9). As citizens of God’s eternal kingdom, we are called to “behold the works of the LORD” (48.8). Our God is both stable and sure, bringing order to the most intense chaos.

Not only that but both natural and national forces will be harnessed in exaltation of God (Psalm 46.10). He will bring order to the chaos. So we must learn to shift our focus from present distress to God’s presence by being still (46.1, 7, 11). To know that God is God is to know his Lordship of nature and history. He is Sovereign over all things both globally and personally. He knows the number of our days and the hairs of our head. But more importantly, he does not wield this knowledge against those who seek his kingdom. Instead, he is a refuge and strength (Psalm 46.1); a presence of safety to secure our hearts with peace. But we must be warned and be wise (Psalm 2.10-12). We must learn about our king and seek his kingdom first. We must “serve the LORD with fear and rejoice with trembling” (Psalm 2.11). “The Lord is good to those who seek him (Lamentations 3.25), and “blessed are all who take refuge in him” (Psalm 2.12). 

“Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God” (Psalm 90.2)

“So we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?”” (Hebrews 13.6, cf. Deuteronomy 31.8)

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