Psalm 46 The Passion Translation (TPT)
God on Our Side
For the Pure and Shining One, by the prophetic singers of Korah’s clan
A poetic song to the melody of “Hidden Things”
1 God, you’re such a safe and powerful place to find refuge!
You’re a proven help in time of trouble—
more than enough and always available whenever I need you.
2 So we will never fear
even if every structure of support were to crumble away.
We will not fear even when the earth quakes and shakes,
moving mountains and casting them into the sea.
3 For the raging roar of stormy winds and crashing waves
cannot erode our faith in you.
Pause in his presence
4 God has a constantly flowing river whose sparkling streams
bring joy and delight to his people.
His river flows right through the city of God Most High,
into his holy dwelling places.
5 God is in the midst of his city, secure and never shaken.
At daybreak his help will be seen with the appearing of the dawn.
6 When the nations are in uproar with their tottering kingdoms,
God simply raises his voice
and the earth begins to disintegrate before him.
7 Here he comes!
The Commander!
The mighty Lord of Angel Armies is on our side.
The God of Jacob fights for us!
Pause in his presence
8–9 Everyone look!
Come and see the breathtaking wonders of our God.
For he brings both ruin and revival.
He’s the one who makes conflicts end
throughout the earth,
breaking and burning every weapon of war.
10 Surrender your anxiety!
Be silent and stop your striving and you will see that I am God.
I am the God above all the nations,
and I will be exalted throughout the whole earth.
11 Here he stands!
The Commander!
The mighty Lord of Angel Armies is on our side!
The God of Jacob fights for us!
Pause in his presence.
My Social Media Feeds are full of two things right now: Covid-19 posts and parents’ posts about their kids who are home from school for the foreseeable future. This is uncharted territory, and the unknown is always scary. I moved my small group from my living room to a virtual group and have begun using hand sanitizer as hand lotion. My daughter’s dance competitions have been cancelled, and this week all of her practices were cancelled. Her world came to a grinding halt immediately. Like her, many of us are finding ourselves in a world that has come to an immediate and abrupt halt. The reality is quite clear--we don’t know what to do with it.
I found myself in a similar situation 18 months ago when I found myself facing the indictment for my affair with an 18 yr old former student. I felt like the world stopped around me, but I dealt with that even more so when I found myself sitting in prison. I was incredibly unsettled for the first couple of weeks I found myself behind the fence, but when God finally got my attention, I realized he had a purpose for my incarceration, for my stillness.
Friends, if we truly believe that God is good, and we truly believe that he will work all things out for the good of those who love him and are called according to his purpose, then we have to trust that God will be in this stillness as well. The psalmist here gives us such hope for these times. They open this psalm by reminding us that God is both a safe and a powerful place for us to find refuge, and that he has proven himself over and over again in times of trouble. What an amazing reminder to us in these uncertain times. God is not just a safe place; he is a powerful refuge. When the world begins to crumble around them, the psalmists set the perfect example for us, explaining that they will not fear! They will not fear because God is in the midst of the city. At daybreak, God will be seen; he will make his presence and his power known. How amazing must that have been for them, and what an amazing picture of hope for us in this time? But, what I want to focus on is one simple verse in this psalm, verse 10. The psalmist reminds us to surrender our anxiety, to be silent and stop striving, and we will see God.
I can’t think of a more fitting message for us today than this: enough fear, enough cheap talk, enough fruitless efforts. Stop, be still, and pay attention so you can see and hear God.
That was the message God gave me over and over again while I was behind the fence. Almost daily, I heard God whisper for me to be still and let him fight for me. I think that’s a message we could all use right now. Be still and know that He is God and He is good and He is powerful. Once I started listening to what God was trying to tell me, my entire time behind the fence shifted. I had never been a person who was ever able to be still. I thought it was my job to be everything and do everything for everyone, but God very clearly said, “nope, not your calling.” When I was forced to sit and be still, I was able to rediscover what it meant to have a relationship with my Father, to marinate in his presence, to hear his voice, and know his word--all things I had abandoned throughout my entirely too busy, entirely too overbooked, entirely too stressful life. Guess what? I would have never done it on my own. I would have never listened to what it was God was telling me or what it was he wanted me to do. I had to be pulled out of my life, my comfort zone, my environment in order for me to be able to listen to what God was telling me.
And I wonder if that isn’t what God wants for you today?
Do you know what the most common response is that I get when I ask people how they are? It usually goes something like this, “good, busy, but good.” All the time. I hear it all the time. I hear parents trying to figure out how they’re going to get their kids to their various practices, how they’re going to make it to dance competition and the baseball game in the same day, how they’ll complete the training, or get the class done, or even get their reading done for small group. It’s a vicious life and cycle that I never thought would end for myself, and I definitely didn’t think would end for everyone else I talk to on a daily basis. Yet, here we are. Here we are in a situation where we aren’t busy, where we aren’t managing 15 different activities on any given day, where we don’t have any excuse for not getting our reading done for small group. And, people don’t know what to do. They don’t know how to be still. We don’t know how to be still.
I’m challenging you today, friend, to choose to be still, not just to choose stillness but to embrace stillness. I’m challenging you today to listen to the psalmists’ advice and surrender your anxiety, be quiet, and pay attention to what it is that God wants to say to you today as well as what it is that God wants to do around you today.
This is a scary time. Many of us are without income, without our church services, without the busyness that we have used to fill our lives. But, maybe this is exactly what God knows you need to hear him. My tragedy was precisely what I needed to be able to hear and see God because he is good, and he makes beautiful things out of dust, even dust of our own making. So, I challenge you today to be still before your God. To listen to what it is he wants you to hear. To follow where it is he wants you to go. To know his power is beyond comprehension. And his hand will be in this. We might not see it yet. We might not be able to discern his plan yet. But, if we’re still and we remember that he is God, we’ll eventually see it.
Good luck, friends.
I can’t think of a more fitting message for us today than this: enough fear, enough cheap talk, enough fruitless efforts. Stop, be still, and pay attention so you can see and hear God.
That was the message God gave me over and over again while I was behind the fence. Almost daily, I heard God whisper for me to be still and let him fight for me. I think that’s a message we could all use right now. Be still and know that He is God and He is good and He is powerful. Once I started listening to what God was trying to tell me, my entire time behind the fence shifted. I had never been a person who was ever able to be still. I thought it was my job to be everything and do everything for everyone, but God very clearly said, “nope, not your calling.” When I was forced to sit and be still, I was able to rediscover what it meant to have a relationship with my Father, to marinate in his presence, to hear his voice, and know his word--all things I had abandoned throughout my entirely too busy, entirely too overbooked, entirely too stressful life. Guess what? I would have never done it on my own. I would have never listened to what it was God was telling me or what it was he wanted me to do. I had to be pulled out of my life, my comfort zone, my environment in order for me to be able to listen to what God was telling me.
And I wonder if that isn’t what God wants for you today?
Do you know what the most common response is that I get when I ask people how they are? It usually goes something like this, “good, busy, but good.” All the time. I hear it all the time. I hear parents trying to figure out how they’re going to get their kids to their various practices, how they’re going to make it to dance competition and the baseball game in the same day, how they’ll complete the training, or get the class done, or even get their reading done for small group. It’s a vicious life and cycle that I never thought would end for myself, and I definitely didn’t think would end for everyone else I talk to on a daily basis. Yet, here we are. Here we are in a situation where we aren’t busy, where we aren’t managing 15 different activities on any given day, where we don’t have any excuse for not getting our reading done for small group. And, people don’t know what to do. They don’t know how to be still. We don’t know how to be still.
I’m challenging you today, friend, to choose to be still, not just to choose stillness but to embrace stillness. I’m challenging you today to listen to the psalmists’ advice and surrender your anxiety, be quiet, and pay attention to what it is that God wants to say to you today as well as what it is that God wants to do around you today.
This is a scary time. Many of us are without income, without our church services, without the busyness that we have used to fill our lives. But, maybe this is exactly what God knows you need to hear him. My tragedy was precisely what I needed to be able to hear and see God because he is good, and he makes beautiful things out of dust, even dust of our own making. So, I challenge you today to be still before your God. To listen to what it is he wants you to hear. To follow where it is he wants you to go. To know his power is beyond comprehension. And his hand will be in this. We might not see it yet. We might not be able to discern his plan yet. But, if we’re still and we remember that he is God, we’ll eventually see it.
Good luck, friends.
Comments
Post a Comment