Psalms 46:1-3 ESV
“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. Selah”
No matter what comes our way, if we trust Jesus Christ with
our lives, and if he is truly Lord (Owner-Master) of our lives, we have no
cause to fear. We can take refuge in the Lord. But this isn’t saying that he is
going to immediately physically remove us from our difficult situations so that
we will not have to suffer. He might, in some cases, but we are called to suffer
and to share in the fellowship of Christ’s sufferings.
Sometimes he does remove us from difficult situations, but
usually he is our refuge and our strength through those difficulties. Now, he
may lessen the pain and suffering to make it more bearable so that we can
function and be able to do his will, but don’t look to him to always remove the
pain and suffering, for it may continue, and it may even be with you always
like the cross you are called to bear in this life for the sake of His name.
But our comfort in our suffering is that God is always with
us if we are with him, i.e. if we are following him with our lives and if we
are walking in obedience to his commands. But if we are double-minded and
doubting God, and if we are asking for relief from the Lord for wrong motives,
and if we are not abiding in Christ and his words are not abiding in us, we
should not expect that we will receive anything from the Lord.
[1 Jn 3:22; 1 Jn 5:14; Jas 4:1-10; Jas 1:2-8; Jn 15:1-11; 1
Pet 3:7; Rom 5:3-5; Phil 3:7-11; 1 Pet 1:6-7; 1 Pet 4:12-17; 1 Thess
3:1-5; Matt 5:10-12; Lu 21:12-19; 2 Co 1:3-11; Heb
12:3-12]
Psalms 46:4-7 ESV
“There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
the holy habitation of the Most High.
God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved;
God will help her when morning dawns.
The nations rage, the kingdoms totter;
he utters his voice, the earth melts.
The Lord of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah”
We who believe in Jesus Christ to be Lord and Savior of our
lives are the “city of God.” We are God’s holy people, his holy nation. We are
his “holy habitation” because he now lives inside of us. We are now his temple.
We are his church, not the building and not the organization nor denominations.
God dwells within us in the person of the Holy Spirit who is our comforter.
Because we rely on the Lord to be our strength and our help
in time of need, we are not moved from our faith in our Lord when our
circumstances fluctuate and when things don’t go so well. Now we may feel pain
and we may suffer and we may cry out to God in our suffering, but if our trust
is fully in him we will continue in him despite what is going on all around us.
Our Lord will help us through every difficulty. We can
always rely on him. And he is absolutely in control over all things so we can
trust him fully with whatever is happening in our lives. So even if our world
on the outside seems to be falling apart by the seams, and even if all appears
hopeless from a worldly perspective, God is still in command over all things.
Psalms 46:8-11 ESV
“Come, behold the works of the Lord,
how he has brought desolations on the earth.
He makes wars cease to the end of the earth;
he breaks the bow and shatters the spear;
he burns the chariots with fire.
‘Be still, 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 fortress. Selah”
I can tell you from personal experience, as one who first believed
in Jesus 65 years ago, that we serve a miracle working God. I have seen my Lord
work miracle after miracle in my life and in my circumstances and in my body
many times over. His mercies are new every morning. The more I trust him the
more I can see how he is working in my life and in my circumstances.
Our God is not limited by our circumstances. When I was much
younger I thought he was because I had been brought up by an abusive father and
the Lord did not deliver me out of that situation. So I concluded that he was
somehow limited and that man had power over me that he could do nothing about.
I still remember the day I said to God in my despair, “But God, you don’t
understand!” Well, he was very gracious to me in that, and he did not rebuke me,
but he encouraged me to do something I was afraid to do.
It took me a while to totally accept the absolute
sovereignty of God over my life but when I did the peace came. But it is
something I have to keep reaffirming to myself when things get tough, for they
do, that God is in control over everything that comes into my life and none of
it caught him by surprise and he has a plan and a purpose for it all. I just
have to trust him.
He
Reached Down
An
Original Work / February 3, 2014
Based
off Psalm 18
How I love You, Lord, my Rock and my strength.
My God is my fortress; I hide in Him.
He is my shield and the horn of
My salvation, whom I praise.
I have found my refuge in Him.
He reached down from heaven and rescued me;
Drew me out of waters so deep, I’d sink.
He delivered me from Satan
And my slavery to sin;
Gave me hope of heaven with Him.
My God turned my darkness into His light;
Opened up my blinded eyes; gave me sight.
As for God, his way is perfect.
He gives strength to stand secure.
I have found my vict’ry in Him.
My Lord lives! Praise be to my Savior God,
Jesus Christ, who died on a cruel cross.
He is my Rock and the source
Of my salvation, whom I trust.
I will give praise always to Him.
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