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”
Life has its ups and downs. It has its trials and
tribulations, its times of testing. There are things we just don’t understand.
On the surface they may appear one way, but underneath they could be something
else. We just don’t know. And sometimes that not knowing can be unsettling
because we don’t know what to expect so that we can be prepared for what is coming
next. Things have changed but we don’t know if the change is good or if it is
bad. And so it takes faith to step out into the unknown.
But this is where we must acknowledge that God is absolutely
sovereign over all things, and he is in control, and he knows what is going on,
and why, even if we don’t. And so we need to trust him. We need to believe that
he has this handled and that he will work his purposes in our lives through it
all. We need to rely on his strength when our strength has failed. And we are
not to let fear of the unknown overtake us, even knowing that what may be
coming next could majorly unsettle us and disrupt our lives as they are now.
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.
God dwells within us in the person of the Holy Spirit who is our comforter, our
helper, our encourager, and our teacher. He instructs us in the ways of God.
And he strengthens and empowers us to walk in the ways of the Lord.
When we put our complete faith and trust in the Lord Jesus,
our faith should be so strong that no matter what comes against us it will not
move us from our loyalty and devotion to the Lord and our dedication to walk in
his ways and in his truth. Nothing should shake us from that solid foundation
in our Lord Jesus. No enemy attacks. No doubts. No fears. For our God will help
us to overcome all fears and all enemy attacks in his power.
Yes, nations will rage against us. Kingdoms will totter.
Even some of our own leaders will betray us and turn against us and become our
enemies, both in the government and in the church. Not many can be trusted
these days. Deception abounds everywhere we look. So many people profess one
thing but live another. So many liars and deceivers and tricksters. We can’t
put our faith and trust in other humans. They are bound to fail us.
But God can be trusted. He is fully faithful in all he does
and absolutely trustworthy. He will not lie to us, as humans will, and he will
not betray our confidence in him if our confidence is built on his truth and
not on the truth of humans who are twisting his truth to their advantage. If we
are in Christ, via dying with Christ to sin and being resurrected with him to
walk in newness of life in him, created to be like God in true righteousness
and holiness, then God is with us and he is our fortress always.
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”
Our Lord does not promise us a life free from trouble and
distress. In fact, Jesus promised his followers that if they followed him that
they would be hated and persecuted like he was hated and persecuted. We are to
share in the fellowship of Christ’s sufferings, becoming like him in his death.
We must suffer with him in order to live with him. And Jesus said if we want to
come after him that we must deny self, take up our cross daily (daily die to
sin and to self) and follow him in obedience (Luke 9:23-26).
Our God is all powerful and fully sovereign over all that he
has made. So nothing is going to thwart his plans and purposes. He allows evil
to exist and he allows evil people to do evil things because if he didn’t we
would not have free will or he would have to remove us all from the earth. But
even when he allows us to suffer unjustly at the hands of people who are out to
harm us, he has a purpose for it in our lives for our good to mature us in him,
and to strengthen us, and to teach us humility and perseverance.
So, even if the earth is giving way beneath our feet
(literally or not), we are to trust our Lord. Now it would be hard to be still
if literally there was an earthquake under our literal feet, but the idea here
of being still is of putting our faith and trust in the Lord in all
circumstances and to not let the troubles of this life shake us and undo us. We
are to know that God is God, that he is with us who are his, that he is our
fortress, and he will be exalted no matter what the enemy tries to do to
destroy the works of God.
[Matt 5:10-16; Matt 10:16-25;
Matt 24:9-14; Matt 28:18-20; Lu 6:22-23; Lu 21:12-19;
John 15:1-21; Jn 16:33; Acts 1:8; Acts 14:22; Acts 26:18; Rom 5:3-5; Rom 12:1-8; 1 Co 12:1-31; 2 Co 1:3-11; Eph
4:1-16; Eph 5:17-27; Phil 3:7-11; Col 3:16; 1 Thess 3:1-5; Jas 1:2-4; Heb 3:13;
Heb 12:3-12; 1 Pet 1:6-7; 1 Pet 2:9; 1 Pet 4:12-17]
Dwelling In Beulah Land
By Miles C Austin (1911)
Far away the noise of strife upon my ear is falling;
Then I know the sins of earth beset on every hand;
Doubt and fear and things of earth in vain to me are
calling;
None of these shall move me from Beulah Land.
Far below the storm of doubt upon the world is beating,
Sons of men in battle long the enemy withstand;
Safe am I within the castle of God’s word retreating,
Nothing there can reach me, ’tis Beulah Land.
Let the stormy breezes blow, their cry cannot alarm me;
I am safely sheltered here, protected by God's hand;
Here the sun is always shining, nothing there can harm me;
I am safe forever in Beulah Land.
Viewing here the works of God, I sink in contemplation;
Hearing now His blessed voice, I see the way He planned;
Dwelling in the Spirit, here I learn of full salvation,
Gladly I will tarry in Beulah Land.
I'm living on the mountain, underneath a cloudless sky,
I'm drinking at the fountain that never shall run dry;
Oh, yes! I'm feasting on the manna from a bountiful supply,
For I am dwelling in Beulah Land.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mob1aWZfApo
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