![]() ![]() Even the strongest rulers and armies seemed fragile, defenseless, fleeting - like life on earth often feels, still today.Īnyone who has lived for long in this world, which is filled and corrupted by sin, has been acquainted with trouble and sorrow - some less so far, and some more, and sadly some even more. Kingdoms rose for a time, and then fell and crumbled (Psalm 46:6). The nations raged against one another, and against the people of God. He imagines earthquakes and raging seas (Psalm 46:2) - unstable, dangerous, even catastrophic. He reaches for horrible, frightening imagery to describe the troubles he’s seen and experienced. The psalmist is not naive about the hardships of life in a fallen world. Trouble and loss are opportunities to press into the presence of God, to deepen our confidence in his faithfulness, to prepare ourselves for endless days without trouble and loss. “For to me to live is Christ,” the suffering apostle says, “and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21). When the earth beneath us begins to give way, he draws even nearer.Įverything we lose in this life is practice for losing it all at death. Why else would the psalm say, “God is our refuge and strength, a * very* present help in trouble”? Not just present, but * very* present - especially present, lovingly present, relentlessly present. God is ever present, but his presence suddenly feels more real, even tangible, when trials come. ![]() The faithfulness of God often feels the sweetest when he fills a hole left by some loss. Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea. (Psalm 46:1–2) God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
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