Feeling safe in a dangerous World.
PSALM 46:1-11
Introduction:
Every one of us in this room probably locks all our doors every night before we go to bed. We get in a car and buckle our seat belts around us.
If we go to an amusement park we will ride the roller coasters and other rides of that type because the attendants buckle us into our seats real well. We choose to put most of our money into the bank rather than stuffing it under the mattress.
If I were having surgery, I would want someone to come pray over me before they roll me into the operating room. I can get on an airplane because I tell myself the pilot is taking the same risk that I am taking.
We do all these things out of a sense of safety. I feel if I do all these things it will be ok and I will be safe and I will feel safe.
God desires that we sense that we are safe in this life. However, many of God’s people live life in fear rather than safety. And so the Psalmist reminds us that God provides us with safety and tells us how to get that safety.
Read Scriptures: Psalm 46:1-11
I. To feel safe in this world, I must hold on to God tightly and the things of this world loosely.
VS1-3 God is our refuge and strength and ever-present help in trouble…
Our safety in this world is not holding tightly to our spouse, or our children, or our parents or our money or our possessions but holding on to Jesus.
The Psalmist tells us that even the three most stable things in all the world such as the ground we stand on, the mountains we can see, and the water staying within its banks, all three are really unstable.
If these three things are unstable how much more unstable in this life is everything else that we attempt to rely upon.
If that is true then how often do we shake our world upside down because we rested our safety on something that is unstable instead of resting our safety upon God?
II. To feel safe in this world, I must exercise my faith to believe that God is with me in spite of any feelings He is not there.
VS 1- God is our refuge and strength an ever-present help in trouble.
VS 7- The Lord Almighty is with us the God of Jacob is our fortress.
Usually when I am overwhelmed by a life situation, I have a feeling that God is nowhere to be found. It seems like He has left me at the wrong time. Here I am in a midst of a problem and I must face it alone.
The Psalmist reminds me if even I don’t sense His presence, He is right there with me.
The Psalmist says that He is an ever-present help. And then the psalmist says that He is with us.
What I must do is exercise my faith to believe that God is with me during the difficult time. If I am to be safe during the tough times I need to know God is with me.
III. To feel safe in this world, I must remember that I am only passing through on my way to a great place.
VS 4-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.
Whatever problem I may be experiencing it is only temporary. Sometimes my problems overwhelm me because I cannot see any end in sight and so my feeling safe is shattered.
I need to remember that there is a place where God is and in that place there are no problems.
But the Psalmist reminds us that while we are here there will be problems.
IV. To fell safe in this world, I need to look to see what God is doing.
VS 8-Come and see the works of the Lord the desolations he has brought to the earth.
I need to look around and see all that God is doing in my life, in people around me and in the world.
If I can see that God is not in the distance but is active all about me I can feel safe no matter what comes against me.
To live the Christian life and not see what God is doing all around you would be miserable.
V. To fell safe in this world, I need to quit trying so hard and let God work.
VS-10 be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations. I will be exalted in the earth.
Sometimes I am my own biggest problem. I want to fix my own problems and most of the time I create an even bigger mess.
God is telling us that sometimes we need to sit back and let Him work.
VI. To feel safe in this world, I must acknowledge that God has a track record of leading others to safety.
VS 11-The Lord Almighty is with us: the God of Jacob is our fortress.
God took care of Jacob after he stole the birthright from Esau. And Jacob was concerned about his safety.
He feared that Esau would take his life, but the Lord had taken care of that for Jacob.
Conclusion
If God will take care of Jacob then he will take care of you also, just trust Him Quit trying so hard and trust in the God’s provision for your life, he knows what he is doing.
