06.09.22 Maybe Today

 

Psalm 46

I wanted to post this maybe today, today because I have been seeing a lot of people lately posting that they are growing weary, they want out of this wicked world or they want to die so they can get out of here.

Yes, I'm tired too of this world. However, we STILL have things to do. The lost still need us! Until Christ calls us home, how do we deal with the evil that surrounds us?

Yes, the world vexes me. It should vex every born-again believer! However, we still need to be present and engaging.

Due to this uptick in many believers growing weary, myself included, yet, I do not want to die, I want us to dive into Psalm chapter 46. There are many nuggets in this Psalm that it would take me pages to write this blog. 

Let us spend a little time in God’s word dissecting what these words mean. The comfort this passage will bring and the hope of knowing my God is in control.

I don't want the Bible to become tainted or overused in these passages. For instance, the favor of the Lord is such a tainted term under the Word of Faith umbrella, yet, I truly desire the favor of the Lord in my life. The word blessed is the same thing. I truly want to be blessed by God, but I could also be blessed by God and have the favor of God while living in poverty, being ill, and not having prosperity.

We hear these sayings all the time but do we honestly adhere to these scriptures? Do we know that God is our refuge and our strength or have the words become so overused, kind of like a Joel Osteen message, that the powerful words in the bible have become... 

mere repetitions and overused for decades?

Will you dive in with me today into this amazing Psalm? Let us all see exactly who and what our God is and truly know that He is our refuge, our strength, and our helper.

God is our refuge and strength. A very present help in trouble.

The word refuge means hope, (place of) refuge, shelter, and trust. When the storms of life come, 

who do you instinctively turn to first? I cannot answer that question for you but I can answer it for myself. 

When the storms of life batter me and I need to seek refuge, the very first person that I go to is Christ. I'm not saying this to be some super-spiritual Christian. I have learned through so many past mistakes and being a prior backslidden believer for so many years, that now if I don't go to God FIRST as my refuge in the storm, I will try to do it my way, and then after my home is battered or I have leaks in my ship, it's then and only then I used to turn to God.

God cannot be second. 

Once God became second in my life, He then became third, fourth, and finally, last. Once He became last, I then allowed worldly influences to seep into me, and therefore sex, drinking, and other things became my refuge. 

Therefore, who do I instinctively go to now? 

Jesus!! 

Jesus IS my refuge!

Notice it just doesn’t say refuge. It says “refuge AND strength”. God is also our strength.

When you are tired, weary, worn, what do you ask for? 

You ask for strength. If we are battered all around by what we see today or what may be happening in our lives, there are two things we need. 

A place of refuge for trust and hope and a place that should also be strong.

Living in Florida, we tend to get these little things called hurricanes. 

If our refuge, the shelter, we are trusting in, doesn’t have the strength to deal with the 150 MPH winds, what happens? It crumbles. Even though we had refuge from the storm, what kind of strength did it have to keep us through the storm?

God is both! Not only our refuge but our strength!

The psalmist continued by saying, 

A very present help in trouble

Notice the word present. God is not some far-off God who is not with us daily. He just doesn’t randomly show up. He is presently walking with His children and when trouble comes, It doesn’t catch Him off guard. Why? Because He is God! He is presently present in this world even though He knows the future. He is already at the end of time. Although God is omnipresent, He is still present in our daily lives!

Verses 2 and 3 say, 

Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change And though the mountains slip into the heart of the sea; Though its waters roar and foam, Though the mountains quake at its swelling pride.

Notice the “therefore” in that verse. Any time the word therefore is used in the bible, ask yourself “what is it there for?” It's also a very simple way to keep the bible in context!

Because God is our refuge, our strength, and our helper, what should we not do? 

Fear. 

These verses state clearly the condition of this earth. The storms will rage on the seas and earthquakes will come. We all know that the earth will not only wax worse and worse in the spiritual realm but also since creation longs to be redeemed, (Romans 8:22) it groans. We see this happening all around us today. Why would one say not to fear? It seems as if it’s all we see today. This also includes those who are in the body of Christ. Everyone is having a sense of fear. How would one overcome that?

Verses 4 and 5 give us a clear picture of who God truly is.

There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, The holy dwelling places of the Most High. God is in the midst of her, she will not be moved; God will help her when morning dawns.

Let me break this down. I had to do a deep dive because I was like, huh? What exactly does all of that mean?

There is a stream that runs through Jerusalem. Jerusalem does not have rivers but a few small streams. In Isaiah 8:6-7,  the stream mentioned was the Siloam. That stream was peaceful and it also was used to protect them in Hezekiah’s time. 

The stream also reflects on the very nature of God. God is not rude nor does He violently intrude in our lives.  This verse proves that God is gentle and because of this, the city is glad because of the constant stream of living water. 

Where else do we read about living water?

John 7:37-39

Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.’” But this He spoke of the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive; for the Spirit was not yet given because Jesus was not yet glorified.

Verse 4 gives a perfect picture of how calm God makes everything. His provisions of eternal living water are real. Reflect on how you feel when you sit by a stream of water. I know how I feel when I go to the ocean. The sound of the waves crashing, the sun setting, the colors, the peace, and calm as the sun sets on the day.

We also read about a Holy Place in verse 4. We all know that Holy Place is just what we await and long for. 

The New Jerusalem.

Verse 5 is quite clear. Even when the physical and spiritual storms come, God is there. Nothing can move if God is there. The earth, which we just read about in verse two, will be moved, it can be moved, however, if God is in the midst, she will not be moved. How we long for that day. Would you agree saints?

Finally, this ends with God doing it again the next day and the next and the…

Verse 6 is quite parallel to Psalm 2. 

The nations made an uproar, the kingdoms tottered; He raised His voice, the earth melted.

Verses 7-9 talk about how we need to have faith in who God is. Our God is mighty! I do not serve a dead Jew in a borrowed grave. I serve a risen savior who is in control even when things appear to be melting and giving way to evil, God is still God.

The LORD of hosts is with us; The God of Jacob is our stronghold. Come, behold the works of the LORD, Who has wrought desolations in the earth. He makes wars to cease to the end of the earth; He breaks the bow and cuts the spear in two; He burns the chariots with fire.

This next verse is so very powerful. A verse we all know very well. It says “cease striving” but in other versions, it says “be still” and KNOW that I am God! Head knowledge to heart knowledge.

Cease striving amid these most chaotic times and cease striving because maybe today we will hear that trumpet and see Christ in the air and hear Him say, “Come up here!” 

Cease striving Saints, the world needs calm and we as believers need to be different from the world. If we are spouting worry, fear, dread, anxiety, confusion, and more, how can the world want what Jesus has to offer if we don’t show them that God is our refuge, strength, helper, a powerful voice, yet gentle and calm? Cease striving saints and KNOW that God’s got this!!

Cease striving and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth. The LORD of hosts is with us; The God of Jacob is our stronghold.

I hope this breakdown will help someone!! Always revert to who God is when the enemy wants us to forget who He is.

Cease from worry or wanting to die!! I understand times are dark however, we are to be the light no matter what.

Maybe Today!!