Reading With the People of God #8 PeaceMuestra

Psalm 46:1-3

God is our refuge and strength, a very-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth gives way, Though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling.

As we pass through the various stages of life, the phrase, “You are in trouble,” carries a different weight. As children, we fear being “in trouble” with our parents or a teacher. Getting “in trouble” is an ongoing temptation during our teenage years. Then, into our twenties, thirties, forties, and beyond, being “in trouble” can mean financial or marriage woes, depression or addiction, along with a lengthy list of other unwelcome experiences in which trouble is a very present reality.

What we need, daily and desperately, is a “very present help in trouble” (Ps. 46:1). It sounds a bit awkward in English, but the Hebrew reads something like this: “a help in tight times he is greatly to be found.” In tight times, when the proverbial walls are closing in, we need that help that is “greatly to be found.” It is found, the psalm says, in “God [who] is our refuge and strength” (46:1).

Here’s the rub, though: God is not really “the Answer” we are looking for. Give us a strategy. Give us a to-do list. Give us a workout routine, yoga postures, breathing exercises, something, anything that we can do to deal with our troubles. But as helpful or unhelpful as some of those strategies may be, the psalmist says, “No. God is our refuge. God is our strength.”

His strength comes to us as a lowly babe, wrapped in swaddling clothes. His refuge is given to us in his weakness.

In Christ alone, the refuge of the troubled, the strength of the weary, we can say, “Therefore we will not fear, though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling” (46:2-3). We will not fear not because of something in us but because of someone for us. When walls are closing in, the outstretched arms of the cross stop them. When we are full of trembling, inside and outside, the empty tomb of our risen Lord of life preaches to us that no matter what, in Jesus, who came to us and who we now wait for again, all shall be well.

Because Jesus is our mighty fortress, “a helper who can always be found in times of trouble” (EHV), rather than cowering in fear, we stand and lift up our heads because we are the beloved children of God.

Heavenly Father, when trouble seeks to overwhelm us, send your Spirit to carry us into Christ, our refuge and strength. Amen.