WE ARE UNABLE TO DO ANYTHING FOR JESUS APART FROM AN UTTERLY DEPENDENT FAITH IN JESUS.
“God is my refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble” (Psalm 46:1).
Making God our refuge and strength is a decision we make. It is a choice of the will. It’s not something we fall into accidentally. It’s a personal declaration—a resolve of the heart. It is a habit of life. We must daily renew our resolve to make God our refuge and strength. We must cultivate that trust in Him in an ongoing, progressively growing way. The assurance of this verse from the Lord ought to take care of all of our fears and problems. God is our refuge—He hides us. God is our strength—He helps us. These two go together. At times in our lives we need a refuge. The storm is blowing and the battle is raging, and we have to run somewhere to hide. It’s not a sin to hide, but it is a sin to stay hidden. God hides us so that He can help us. Then we can return to the battle and face the storm. This is not escape but rejuvenation. Remember, when God is available as your refuge and your strength, you have nothing to fear. Take time to run to the Lord. Are circumstances overwhelming you? Take refuge in the Lord. He will enable you to continue with renewed strength and confidence.
The more burdens we put on the shoulders of Jesus, the more precious He will be to us. He can handle it all! When you are in trouble, do you know who to call to? Jeremiah 33:3 says, “Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.” Strip off your own righteousness and your own fears, and look to the beloved Physician! He is always there to provide a refuge. Do you really believe it?
Think of what Harry went through in the following story. Harry had never felt this kind of fear before… He had walked this way home a thousand times, but this time was different—this time he was afraid. Maybe it was because his hip hurt more than ever… maybe it was because his cane felt heavier than usual—or that the ally was darker, there was surely someone there waiting to jump out and hurt him like before. Everything tonight reminded him of the night when someone did jump out at him, and knock him down and hurt him. That was the night he wanted to forget, but it was too much like tonight. "Give me your money, Old Man!" said the young man towering over him as Harry lay in pain on the ground. "I know you've got it…" Harry obeyed without a word. When he gave it to him the mugger just looked at it in disgust… "Is that all you got, you stupid old man?" he said kicking him in the hip for emphasis. Then he was gone and Harry was left lying there on the sidewalk, alone. Now tonight, he passed by the very spot where it had happened. Harry walked as quickly as possible, whatever his hip would take. He looked down the street, he could see his own front door, and the light there above it was on for him. That was where he wanted to be, that was where he was safe… that was his refuge.
Like Harry, we need a refuge, because the world is a dangerous place. There is trouble out there. The Psalm paints a picture of violence, the earth falling apart, mountains crumbling and oceans coming out of their banks sweep over everything in their path. It shows us dangers we can't avoid—dangers that are too big to run away from. God is our refuge, it says, even in the face of these kinds of dangers.
God is our refuge—our safe place. Years ago there used to be signs on houses saying “Block Home.” What’s a block home? It is a place you can go if you are in trouble. It’s a safe place to run if someone is chasing you. “Safe Place” is a refuge. It is somewhere to go in time of trouble. The world is a dangerous place—but God is our refuge. He is our refuge when we are threatened by sickness that lurks in the darkness to catch us when we least expect it—threatens to jump out and knock us down to take away our ability to take care of ourselves, our independence, and self-reliance. But, in sickness we turn to God, who is our refuge. Like the woman who came to Jesus crying, “Heal my daughter!” Just like her we come to our Refuge for healing. We come to Him in prayer believing He can heal.
The world, too, is a dangerous place—but God is our refuge. He is our refuge when other people threaten us. People we don’t understand—people who don’t understand us. It isn’t just thieves and muggers—it’s people willing to put themselves in an airplane and strike a building full of people. There are people who are willing to kill thousands to satisfy their own ideals. Many people have very different ideologies—very different theologies that threaten us. Harry was beaten on a dark street; Christians are often ridiculed on primetime. Positive portrayals of people of faith are hard to come by on television. And it’s getting worse. People of faith are under attack in the legal system—and the school system. And when it happens we run to our Refuge. “Help us, Father!” we cry.
The world is a dangerous place, but we have a Refuge, God is our Refuge, through Jesus Christ. So even if illness overtakes us, he is our refuge—we look to him for healing, but even if the illness ends in death we find refuge in the resurrection of Jesus Christ, the resurrection that God promises us. Even though there are people out there who hate us and threaten us, we turn to God for refuge. Even if they kill us we find our refuge in the resurrection of Jesus Christ, the resurrection that God promises us. And when death does finally catch us, when the pursuit is over, when darkness is closing in on us—we look to God, our refuge and remember the rescue, the resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is in him we find refuge. The peace of God, that passes all understanding, keeps your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
Psalm 46 was evidently written in that kind of environment. There must have been times when the Psalmist felt like he was in a pressure-cooker and could not get out. So he wrote the words of this Psalm as he sought to deal with the stresses of his life. Read the first verse again, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” The Hebrew word “trouble” means “pressed in.” Do you remember the old saying, “Between a rock and a hard place?” That is the kind of pressure the Psalmist is talking about. When you are “Between a rock and a hard place,” then turn to this Psalm, because it ministers in a most amazing and significant way. You have nothing to fear because God is your refuge and strength—in a time of trouble.
It almost sounds as if the Psalmist was familiar with the headlines in our modern day scientific journals, doesn’t it? Worrisome things are happening in our world today. During the past 20 years, earthquakes have increased at a phenomenal rate. Geologists point to the San Andreas Fault, and predict that one day a large chunk of western California will fall off into the Pacific Ocean. They say that the Pacific rim volcanoes are ripe for a major eruption.
And what about the hurricanes that lash our coasts, the tornadoes that sweep across our states, the blizzards that paralyze our cities, the drought that shrivels up & cracks our farm land, & the floods that wash away bridges and homes? Some are beginning to cry out, "What is happening in our world today?" But as Christians, how are we to react to all this? The Psalmist says, "I will not be afraid. My Lord is still in command of the winds and the waves and the sea, and all of the elements of nature. Therefore I will not fear. God is my refuge & my strength."
In our world today nations are in an uproar. Mankind seems to be falling apart. But we, as Christians, don’t have to be. We can stand steadfast because God is our refuge and our strength, and because Jesus is King of Kings and Lord of Lords. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. And as Christians we stand strong in the faith and commitment that we have in Jesus, who is our Lord.
In conclusion we must remember that God is always near and available to us. God never puts us on hold. God’s power is greater than anything in this entire world. Don’t be afraid to ask for His help—He is there for you. God’s help works even when we can’t help ourselves. The Psalmist ends this Psalm with verse 10, which is such a constant reminder to us, “To be still and know that I am God.”
