God is our refuge and strength,
A very present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear,
Even though the earth be removed,
And though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea;
Though its waters roar and be troubled,
Though the mountains shake with its swelling.
Selah
There is a river whose streams shall make glad the city of God,
The holy place of the tabernacle of the Most High.
God is in the midst of her, she shall not be moved;
God shall help her, just at the break of dawn.
The nations raged, the kingdoms were moved;
He uttered His voice, the earth melted.
The LORD of hosts is with us;
The God of Jacob is our refuge.
Selah
Come, behold the works of the LORD,
Who has made desolations in the earth.
He makes wars cease to the end of the earth;
He breaks the bow and cuts the spear in two;
He burns the chariot in the 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 of hosts is with us;
The God of Jacob is our refuge.
Selah—Psalm 46
Be Still and Know That I Am God…
When my daughter, Rebecca, was a little girl and feeling out of sorts she would come up to me and say, “ Mom, my mind feels full of wrinkles. It needs straightening. I am gonna go read my Bible for a little while. There are no words to express the joy that rose up in this Momma’s heart whenever I heard those words. What a gift for me to know that God was becoming her “go-to” in times of trouble.
As I read Psalm 46 this morning, the Lord brought Rebecca’s sweet words of long ago to mind. She would often read Psalm 91 (and still does) for comfort, but for me it is Psalm 46 that smooths out the “wrinkles” in my thinking.
Beloved…keep these precious words of David nearby. Read them after you read the news. Read them whenever your thinking begins to go awry during the day. Turn away your eyes from looking at useless things and focus them on the truth of the word of God. One prayerful read through and you will begin to feel the Spirit renewing your mind, quelling your anxious thoughts, strengthening your inner man and making the crooked places straight. Keep reading and keep resetting. The world and its problems, your world and your problems will, as the song says, grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace.
You will keep him in perfect peace,
Whose mind is stayed on You,
Because he trusts in You.
Trust in the LORD forever,
For in YAH, the LORD, is everlasting strength.—Isaiah 26:3-4
You will show me the path of life;
In Your presence is fullness of joy;
At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.—Psalm 16:11
Here is Psalm 91 in its entirety…
He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High
Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say of the LORD, "He is my refuge and my fortress;
My God, in Him I will trust."
Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler
And from the perilous pestilence.
He shall cover you with His feathers,
And under His wings you shall take refuge;
His truth shall be your shield and buckler.
You shall not be afraid of the terror by night,
Nor of the arrow that flies by day,
Nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness,
Nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday.
A thousand may fall at your side,
And ten thousand at your right hand;
But it shall not come near you.
Only with your eyes shall you look,
And see the reward of the wicked.
Because you have made the LORD, who is my refuge,
Even the Most High, your dwelling place,
No evil shall befall you,
Nor shall any plague come near your dwelling;
For He shall give His angels charge over you,
To keep you in all your ways.
In their hands they shall bear you up,
Lest you dash your foot against a stone.
You shall tread upon the lion and the cobra,
The young lion and the serpent you shall trample underfoot.
"Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him;
I will set him on high, because he has known My name.
He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble;
I will deliver him and honor him.
With long life I will satisfy him,
And show him My salvation."
