Psalm 46:1-11
When Trouble Comes
Trouble comes to everyone at some point. No one escapes it. If you’re not having a bad day today, you will one day. And what will you do then? Will you fall apart? Will you give up on God? On the world? On yourself? The psalm writers, these sons of Korah, speak to our reaction when life beats us down. They give us some powerful verses that will help you keep your head on straight and keep moving forward, even when trouble is all around you. So let’s take them in reverse order from the poem itself. Lesson #1:
1. Slow down
I love verse 10. The psalm writers have been bragging on God for the proceeding nine verses, and then God takes over. And he says these eight powerful words:
“Be still, and know that I am God.” (v. 10)
When life is falling apart, it’s hard to be still; it’s hard to remember that God is God. We want to do more. We want to be more in control. Slow down? Be still? If anything, we want to speed up! But God says, “Be still, and know that I am God.”
Earlier we sang Martin Luther’s “A Mighty Fortress is Our God,” which was inspired by Psalm 46. Later on we’re going to sing a second hymn inspired by this psalm, “Be Still My Soul.” It’s a reminder of the great truth of verse 10. When trouble comes, quiet yourself before God. Quiet your soul. Spend time at the foot of the Master, in quiet submission, waiting on him. See what he has for you in the storm. Ask what he wants you to learn.
Psychotherapy has appropriated this idea of slowing down. As a mental health chaplain, one of the therapies I learned and applied to chaplain work is called Problem Solving Therapy. And one of the most practical and easily applied lessons in Problem Solving Therapy is SSTA. SSTA stands for: Stop, Slow down, Think, and Act. Sometimes we just need to stop. In the middle of the chaos, we need to take a knee. To stop what we’re doing, to stop what we’re thinking, to slow down the craziness for a second, think through the next best course of action, and then act upon it. And this psalm says, “When you stop and slow down, do it before God. Consider what God has for you to learn.
Slow down. And secondly,
2. Stay calm
In verse 2 the poet describes an earthquake: the earth is giving way and mountains are falling into the sea. He describes in verse 3 roaring waters and quaking mountains. It sounds like hurricanes, tsunamis, and volcanoes! Creation is going mad!
Back to earthquakes—if you’ve ever experienced one—they make you feel really small and out of control. I remember experiencing two minor quakes when we lived on the Washington coast. One of them was a swaying type quake. I was on a step ladder. I got down as fast as I could. When the whole room sways back and forth for 20 seconds, and then you call your friends across town, and their world was swaying like your world was swaying, all of a sudden you feel very small.
My sister-in-law was in Anchorage when a 7.1 magnitude earthquake hit on November 30, 2018. She lived through the 170 major aftershocks to follow. She described to my wife feeling hopeless and terrified, with all the emotions returning with each ensuing aftershock.
Nature can bring fear. And nations can bring fear. Verse 6 describes nations in “uproar” and kingdoms “falling.” In the Hebrew, the verbs the song writers choose here are the same exact verbs they used to describe the calamities of nature, now applied to the destructive power of international politics and war. I guess the point is: natural evil and human evil can both turn your world upside down!
All of this brings an unsettledness of the soul. Just try watching the news right before you go to bed, and see how your dreams turn out, how restful your rest is!
But look back to verse 2. The writers know God is with them, whether in natural conflict or manmade conflict. And because of that, they proclaim,
“Therefore, we will not fear!” (v. 2)
No matter what happens in our lives, no matter how small and out of control we feel, we can remember that God is with us. When the two sets of footprints in the sand become only one set of footprints, that was when God was carrying us! After all, “If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31).
And so, #3, we can...
3. Lean on God
That’s what the young shepherd boy David did, when he faced down Goliath. He knew this loudmouth bully was bad news for Israel. He knew his nation faced a big problem. And he knew he was no match for a giant. But he believed his God was bigger than his problem.
Look at the very first verse of today’s psalm:
“God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.” (v. 1)
God is bigger than your problem. God is stronger than what threatens you. God is your safe place. In 1983 some workers at a teen shelter in Louisville, Kentucky decided they needed to more effectively advertise a safe haven for teens at risk of domestic violence, for teens at risk of sex trafficking, or for anyone in need of a safe rescue. Thus began the “National Safe Place Network.” They started putting up bright yellow signs in libraries and fire stations and other public places, so that teens in crisis could get immediate help.
God is our safe place. We can go to him in times of crisis. Sometimes we wonder where he is, but the truth is, he is “ever-present.” He’s been there all along, when that person hurt you, or even when you brought harm upon yourself with your own sinful actions. God was there. And God still loves you. “God is your refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.”
This reminds me of the words of Jesus, in Matthew 11:28-30, when he said, 28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
To show the difference God makes in our lives, the psalm writers take the destructive waters of a chaotic storm and transform them into the peaceful flowing river of the city of God. You’ll find this river at both ends of your Bible: in the Garden of Eden in Genesis and then again in the new heaven on earth in Revelation. Jesus used a river as a symbol of the Holy Spirit flowing out of our lives (John 7:38-39). The writers assure us in verse 5,
“God will help her at break of day.”
Daybreak was the best time to attack an enemy, to catch them completely off guard. And here it says, that’s when God will help. In other words, God will be there just when you need him the most. God is never late, even if it seems to us he is tarrying a bit too long. His timing is always perfect.
Some of you have been through horrific experiences. Maybe you’ve lost a child, or lost a spouse, or lost your health, or lost a job, or lost your life savings, or lost your reputation. Some days it may seem like you’re losing your mind. And you wonder about God’s timing and God’s presence and God’s strength. “Did you forget about me, God? Or is this just too big a job for you to handle?” No, God did not forget. And no, nothing is too big for God to handle.
Your story is not over yet. It may feel like it’s over but it’s not over. It’s not over until God says it’s over. And maybe in eternity you will see how he used your traumatic events to bring about some good somewhere somehow. Not that he caused the trauma to happen, but that he can use the trauma for his glory and your good. Maybe you’ll never know ... but you can still trust God. God always has your very best in mind. He’s a good God, and he’s a great God. He will be there for you just when you need him. Let’s pray about it right now:
Heavenly Father, we rest our souls before you just now. In the quietness of this moment, help us to give every anxiety to you. Help us to trust you with the trouble that has come our way: some self-generated and some generated by other people or factors beyond our control. Help us to remember: you are there, you can calm our soul, and you can deliver us as we trust in you. Our world needs you as well, so we ask for your help for those around us. We ask this all in Jesus’ name, amen.
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Psalm 46
1 God is our refuge and strength,
an ever-present help in trouble.
2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
3 though its waters roar and foam
and the mountains quake with their surging.
4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
the holy place where the Most High dwells.
5 God is within her, she will not fall;
God will help her at break of day.
6 Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall;
he lifts his voice, the earth melts.
7 The Lord Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.
8 Come and see what the Lord has done,
the desolations he has brought on the earth.
9 He makes wars cease
to the ends of the earth.
He breaks the bow and shatters the spear;
he burns the shields with fire.
10 He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth.”
11 The Lord Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.
