God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change, and though the mountains slip into the heart of the sea; though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains quake at its swelling pride. (Psalm 46:1-3)
1) God is our refuge—that means He is our shelter; He is a place of protection and a place where we can let down our defenses because He will protect us. Just as a child runs to his parents for comfort and protection when scared or hurt, so may we run to God in the same way. There’s never a reason to stay in a defenseless place.
2) God is our strength—because He is our strength, He makes us strong to endure whatever comes against us. But, we have to go to Him to tap into that strength. He literally breathes new life into us everyday and gives us hope to go on and strength for our journey. He does that through His Word. As we read scriptures we are filled with strength and courage to keep going. There have been many times I thought all I could do was just give in to the storm and let it take me wherever it would. But God has always been faithful to strengthen me and give hope and instruction for the next step.
3) God is a very present help in trouble—this phrase literally translated means, “God is abundantly available for help when I’m in tight places.” Notice He is “abundantly available.” Abundant means overflowing—more than enough. He is always available to help. In fact, He is overflowing with ability to help. And He wants to help when we find ourselves in “tight places.” And notice there’s no qualification that He only helps when the tight place isn’t one of our own making. It doesn’t matter—He wants to have mercy on us and help us anytime we find ourselves in a tight place and we’re willing to call on Him for help.
4) The Psalmist’s conclusion? Therefore I will not fear—What a statement! No qualifications there either, but a strong confession. In fact, He goes on to say in essence NO MATTER WHAT, I WILL NOT FEAR. Look at all the circumstances in which he will not fear:
- Though the mountains slip into the heart of the sea
- Though the waters of the sea roar and foam
- Though the mountains quake at swelling pride of the sea
Wow! No matter what catastrophic event happens, I WILL NOT FEAR. Why? Because “God is my refuge and strength, abundantly available for help in tight places.”
Consider with me another passage in which God offers help in time of trouble:
Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving, and pay your vows to the Most High, and call upon Me in the day of trouble; I shall rescue you, and you will honor Me. (Psalm 50:14-15)
1) Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving. The starting point of our quest to secure the help of God is a heart with an attitude of thanksgiving. First of all it says, Offer to God. We are to offer something to God. There is no coercion on His part and no regret on our part. We are to OFFER to God. What are we to offer? A sacrifice of thanksgiving. First notice that the sacrifice IS thanksgiving. It doesn’t say, a sacrifice WITH thanksgiving—it says, a sacrifice OF thanksgiving. Is thanksgiving what He really wants from me? Even in the New Testament Paul instructs us, In everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. (I Thessalonians 5:18) Notice it doesn’t say, FOR everything give thanks, but rather, IN everything give thanks. Think about the difference. It doesn’t mean be thankful for bad and wrong things that happen, but in every circumstance keep an attitude of thankfulness to God for all He has done, is doing, and will do in the future. You cannot be a thankful individual without having a humble heart. Did you notice the fact that He calls thanksgiving a sacrifice? A sacrifice would imply that you have to give up something precious to you. What could that be? How about your personal pride? The hardest thing in the world to turn loose of is pride. And Scripture says, God resists the proud. A proud person cannot humble themselves to thank anyone for anything. But a humble person is thankful to everyone, most of all God. When something good happens to you do you thank God?—because ultimately, Every good thing bestowed and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation, or shifting shadow. (James 1:17) Do you thank the people that have helped you or done something for you? Do you look for opportunities to thank others, rather than criticize them? Determine to be a person with a thankful attitude. According to Psalm 50 it’s the first step to receiving the help of God.
2) Pay your vows to the Most High. Is there anything you have vowed to God that you have not fulfilled? I’m not talking about a commandment in the Bible you’ve not obeyed. I’m talking about something that only you and God know about. Is there anything in your heart, just between you and God that you’ve promised Him? If so, don’t delay in fulfilling that vow. Proverbs says its better to not make a vow at all than to make one and not fulfill it. We can all think of ways we’ve fallen short before God, so don’t let Satan give you a false sense of guilt. Remember, we’re talking about what YOU have vowed before God.
3) Call upon Me in the day of trouble. Simple instruction—not hard—one phrase—Call upon Me in the day of trouble. Once again, calling upon God requires humility. Maybe that’s why thankfulness is the first step. When God revealed Himself to Moses, this is what He declared His name to be:
The LORD, the LORD God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth, who keeps lovingkindness for thousands, who forgives iniquity, transgression and sin.
Isn’t that the kind of God you want to call on? One who is compassionate and gracious? One who is slow to anger? One who overflows with lovingkindness and truth? One who keeps lovingkindness for thousands? One who forgives iniquity, transgressions and sin? WHAT A GOD! There is none like Him! That’s who we can call on in the day of trouble? Why should we fear? Yet, there’s more.
4) I shall rescue you. Simple instruction: Call upon Me. Simple answer: I shall rescue you. What a promise! I SHALL rescue you. Not, “Maybe I’ll rescue you.” Not, “If I feel like it I’ll rescue you.” Not, “Unless I change my mind I’ll rescue you.” But, I SHALL rescue you. And more than that He goes on to say, You will honor Me. I always thought of that as something I was bringing to God that paid homage to Him, but consider it in the sense that the honor is His because He got to rescue you. Have you ever been asked to do something that made you feel honored because you were asked to do it? It’s that kind of honor. We say, “Thank you,” and He says, “The pleasure was all mine.” It honors Him when we call upon Him with a thankful heart that has fulfilled its vows. Now you may think, “Why would it honor God for Him to have to rescue me when I’m in trouble?” By humbling yourself before Him, by being thankful and showing your heart to be pure towards Him, by fulfilling your vows, you are acknowledging your total inability to rescue yourself and His unique ability to rescue you. Isn’t that what we all did at the moment of our salvation? We each had to come to the place that we realized our utter inability to save ourselves from an eternity of suffering. Wouldn’t you agree that at that point, the pride that made us believe we could somehow save ourselves had to be cast aside? That each of us had to humble ourselves to call upon his name for salvation—the only name under heaven whereby we must be saved? The name that is compassionate and gracious? The name that is slow to anger? The name that overflows with lovingkindness and truth? The name that keeps lovingkindness for thousands? The name that forgives iniquity, transgression and sin? You see, our walk continues every day just as we first believed.
The Psalmist closes the chapter with what on the one hand is a grave warning, and yet on the other is a beautiful promise:
Now consider this, you who forget God, lest I tear you in pieces, and there be none to deliver. He who offers a sacrifice of thanksgiving honors Me. And to him who orders his way aright I shall show the salvation of God. Psalm 50:22-23
What does it mean to “order” you way “aright?” What else can it mean except to follow the instruction set out in the previous verses?
- Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving
- Pay your vows to the Most High
- Call upon Me in the day of trouble
I SHALL RESCUE YOU! An emphatic promise from a capable and Mighty God.
Dear friends,