Psalm 46 reads, “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore, we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.
There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells. God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day.
Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall; he lifts his voice, the earth melts. The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.
Come and see the works of the Lord, the desolation he has brought on the earth. He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth; he breaks the bow and shatters the spear, he burns the shields 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 Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.”
The text today sounds pretty powerful doesn’t it? We hear of roaring waters and falling kingdoms. We hear of shattering spears and burning shields. That is all and well just for those folks 3,000 years ago right? Not often do we deal with the physical world around us collapsing. We might have to go downstairs to take shelter during a tornado warning but we don’t usually deal with an enemy nation invading our country. Even though that is true we still deal with tragedy. Someone close to us has passed away. Someone we know has just divorced. Some child has been abused. More often than not we look at those situations and they are happening to someone else. But we know that one day, if it hasn’t happened already, we could experience some real turmoil in our lives.
Living in an alcoholic home is not easy. Sometimes people don’t even know that there is something wrong with that type of family setting until years down the road. When I was growing up it was a constant factor in how we lived day to day. As a child I could hear my father coming home and walking up the front steps after work or whatever he had been doing.
After a while I began to notice that there was an angry walk or there was a sober walk. More often than not it was an angry walk up the steps. Every bone in my body would cry, “Run! Hide!” But I knew that Dad would finally call me down and if I did not come it would be worse. Sometimes those angry footsteps would come through the door and walk right back to the bedroom and retire for the night. But whatever the case, my mother, my brothers and I would be on pins and needles until we went to bed.
The most difficult part of growing up with that lifestyle was never knowing what peace was until I fell asleep. Sometimes even that wasn’t a guarantee. Especially if my father came home late. Then no matter what you were doing, eating or sleeping, he would get you up and start with terrible verbal, mental and physical abuse that only those who know what an angry drunk is, can understand. Peace never knocked on our door.
So even though we may never know what a typhoon is or what an exploding volcano can do we all probably have parts in our lives that have periods of turmoil and turbulence. That is where understanding today’s scripture is so important in light of tragedies that may knock on our door.
Here in today’s text we see that the writer is fairly familiar with the city of Jerusalem. Like most cities of its time it had a strong wall surrounding it to protect them from enemies just walking into town and creating havoc. These walls had a number of gates that could be shut and barred against any invading armies. It was not just a city, it was as our author tells us – it was a fortress.
But looking at this passage do we see the author bragging up how strong the walls are or how mighty their city’s army is? No we don’t. What do we see the author telling us? He is telling us how strong the city is spiritually. Armies can destroy and conquer. But the human heart is beyond sword or fire if we know where its strength lies. Here our author gives us a spiritual tour of the heart of Jerusalem. First of all we see the foundation of the city in verse 5 where it says, “God is within her, she will not fall.” Here is our foundation to this inner peace – it is God.
Before I became a Christian, I did not know what peace was. I did not know what to do when my father would go on a raging tirade influenced by alcohol. I would try to escape but the endless abuse gnawed at my very inner being. Did I know peace? No I did not. I must ask you today, is there something gnawing at your soul? Is there something that is shaking you without any chance for rest?
After I became a Christian, God revealed to me what real peace was. Real peace was knowing that my father no longer controlled my life. The real control, I discovered, was in the hands of God. Thus began the rebuilding of my soul’s walls. Did it happen overnight? No, but I sought it. I desired the peace of God. I looked for it.
Here in the psalm we see the same thing. The psalmist has looked for and found where real peace is. The real peace is in God’s victory over the enemies of His people. In verses 8 – 9 we see a God who has been victorious. He has laid to waste and destruction all those things that have oppressed His people. He has even taken the tools of war that they have used and destroyed them, making the enemy impotent with any further attacks.
You might remember one of the tragic bombings in Northern Ireland. Many people, Catholic and Protestant, were injured or killed. People were afraid that this would be the end of the Irish peace process. They expected more bombings and more bloodshed.
And it may have happened, had not God been at work. Through God’s intervention, Catholics and Protestants came together. They held a united service in which they honored the dead and declared themselves more determined than ever to work for peace. As a result of this, many splinter groups of the IRA (the faction who led many of the bombings) vowed to end their part in the violence.
God is still at work. He is still bringing peace. He is still, “shattering the spears and burning the war-wagons.” To see this work of God we must compare it to the work of humankind. The most awesome human made plans and technology are nothing compared to the power of God.
The psalmist reflects on some of the most powerful things to is knowledge during that time: earthquakes, hurricanes, volcanoes. This applies to today. We have fearful catastrophes waiting around the corner: a new disease outbreak, economic collapse, terrorist infiltration to our prosperous nation. What can we expect? More importantly, how do we prepare for these things? The answer does not lie in where we start throwing time and money but rather what we personally do.
In verse 10 we hear God telling us directly, “Be still and know that I am God.” Easy to read, hard to live isn’t it? “Be still?” while my children run away? “Be still?” while my husband has an affair? “Be still?” when I could lose my job tomorrow? How can you even ask me to, “Be still?”
I will admit the world is a frightening and horrible place to live much of the time. It’s hard to see or feel that God truly is in control and that, “the Lord Almighty is with us.”
Jesus gives us the key to peace in His prayer for His disciples. He prays that God will protect them in the name of God. Peace and safety is not found in a place, but in the Person. God is the source of what helps us. When the psalmist describes that the LORD of hosts is with us, he’s not talking about the master of dinner parties. The LORD of Hosts means that He is in command of the millions of angels who are at His command. Do you know who they are fighting for? They are fighting for God on our behalf. Picture that would you? When things are at their darkest God has troops of angels fighting the darkness for us. We must rely on that and believe it, for it is true not only to this psalmist but to many other men and women of God found in the Bible.
Does God’s presence and protection mean we will never be caught in life’s meat grinder again? No more illness, no more bad habits? That would be wonderful wouldn’t it? We look to Jesus when He asked that we would not be taken out of the world but rather protected from evil. Jesus believed we could experience God’s presence and protection while we are right in the middle of the worst happenings.
Long ago, a man sought the perfect picture of peace. Not finding one that satisfied, he announced a contest to produce this masterpiece. The challenge stirred the imagination of artists everywhere, and painting arrived from far and wide. Finally the great day of revelation arrived. The judges uncovered one peaceful scene after another, while the viewers clapped and cheered.
The tensions grew. Only two pictures remained veiled.
As a judge pulled the cover from one, a hush fell over the crowd.
A mirror-smooth lake reflected lacy, green birches under the soft blush of the evening sky. Along the grassy shore, a flock of sheep grazed undisturbed. Surely this was the winner.
The man with the vision uncovered the second painting himself, and the crowd gasped in surprise. Could this be peace?
A tumultuous waterfall cascaded down a rocky precipice; the crowd could almost feel its cold, penetrating spray. Stormy – gray clouds threatened to explode with lightening, wind and rain. In the midst of the thundering noises and bitter chill, a spindly tree clung to the rocks at the edge of the falls. One of its branches reached out in front of the torrential waters as if foolishly seeking to experience its full power.
A little bird had built a nest in the elbow of that branch. Content and undisturbed in her stormy surroundings, she nested on with her eggs. With her eyes closed and her wings ready to cover her little ones, she manifested peace that transcended all the earthly turmoil.
My challenge for you is this. When life will knock at your door with tragedy what will you see? What will you remember? I challenge you to prepare your painting to be unveiled at that time. Paint it with hope in the LORD of Hosts. Paint it with a God who conquers and subdue all enemies. Paint it with God dwelling in the middle of it all. And what should your painting be called? “Be Still and Know That I Am God.”
