4 WONDERFUL PROMISES OF GOD’S CARE FOR US

READ PSALM 46

BE STILL IN THE STORM! GOD IS AT WORK!

Psalm 46:8-11

8 Come, behold the works of the Lord,

how he has brought desolations on the earth.

9 He makes wars cease to the end of the earth;

he breaks the bow and shatters the spear;

he burns the chariots with fire.

10 “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 of hosts is with us;

the God of Jacob is our fortress. 

Selah 

Because God worked on behalf of the Israelites, they should have called attention to their Lord: the God who had power to make the other nations desolate and to bring victory to them.

God desired that they would recognize Him and find peace in Him. The natural reaction would have been for them to praise Him above all nations, above all created things.

True believers frequently experience the tender care of their God, who has consistently shown His power and love through the many difficulties of their lives. Those who know Him are continually encouraged by His loving care and tenderness.

As His children, we are well aware of our helplessness and dependence upon our Lord. We came to Him as desolate and broken people deserving nothing, and in God we have found our rest and our refuge.

God wants our thoughts to be informed by truth, but we are surrounded by lies that want to control our thoughts, which then affect our feelings.

Our hearts are both deceived and deceitful. The father of lies rules the world and so our hearts can quickly embrace his lies.

Jeremiah 17:9

The heart is deceitful above all things,

and desperately sick;

who can understand it? 

Left to our human thinking, we are not even able to judge our own hearts and our feelings. Only God’s Word can inform us about what is true and what should be driving our decisions and reactions.

1 - When Christ invites us to come to Him, He promises to provide peace and rest.

Matthew 11:28-30

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” 

2 - God’s provision is inexhaustible.

Philippians 4:19-20

And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. To our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen. 

3 - We have a Comforter.

John 14:25-27

 “These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. 

4 - He prepares us to help others.

2 Corinthians 1:3-4

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. 

The Psalmist reminds us to be still and wait upon God. Let me tell you the signs that we are not doing this: when we have no rest, no peace, we are troubled, we are not close to God, and we are unprepared to help others.

Why should we be still? Because when the waves are the focus of our thoughts, we are in turmoil. When the clouds are the focus of our thoughts, we live in fear. When other people’s opinions are the focus of our thoughts, we live in confusion.

We need to stop, redirect our thoughts, meditate on the truth of the Scriptures and trust in what we know of the character of God. Even though our surroundings are fluctuating, our God always remains our sure foundation.

When in a storm, don’t doubt what you know about the Lord. Be still and your fear will turn to trust, your anxiety will turn to peace.

This Psalm has walked us through the reality of life as a believer: that we live in the midst of real storms, protected by our true God, and our faith will direct us to trustful dependence and true peace.

WE ARE SO BLESSED!

GOD, DO YOU KNOW WHAT IS HAPPENING TO ME?

READ PSALM 46

GOD BRINGS THE STORM AND PROTECTS US THROUGH IT

Psalm 46:4-7

4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,

the holy habitation of the Most High.

5 God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved;

God will help her when morning dawns.

6 The nations rage, the kingdoms totter;

he utters his voice, the earth melts.

7 The Lord of hosts is with us;

the God of Jacob is our fortress. 

                                         Selah 

Here, the psalmist begins to describe the comfort and peace of living in the presence and care of God. The waters of the presence of God are streams that bring joy, compared to the waters of verse three, that were overwhelming.

The city of God is a place of refuge and care. Where God dwells, people cannot be moved or overcome. Yes, the nations can rage, but when God speaks, everything stops.

Why do we so quickly lose sight of God when trouble comes? Do you remember when the storm came while Jesus was in a boat with His disciples?

Mark 4:35-41

On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side.” And leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. And other boats were with him. And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling. But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion. And they woke him and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. He said to them, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?” And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?” 

Did you notice that it was Jesus Who asked the disciples to go on the boat? Did He know that there would be a storm? Did He know that it would become dangerous? Was He surprised by their reactions?

The apostles had been with Jesus; they had already watched Him perform miracles. When they asked Jesus if He cared, they probably had more doubt about His interest in them, than about His ability to help them. And even His help was probably expected more in human terms than in the miraculous.

But all it took was a word from Jesus, and the storm calmed down. At God’s word, men were resurrected, people were healed. Jesus’ response exposes the problem: the disciples lacked faith. Their time with Jesus had not increased their trust in Him.

We tend to ask the same absurd question the disciples asked. The absurdity of the question is this: why would we wonder if God brought us into the boat to die, when we know that He died to bring us into His eternal care?! When God looks at our reactions to trials of life, does he ask us why we have such little faith? How quickly our minds focus on the wrong direction (ourselves rather than God) and how quickly we are enveloped by fear. Oh God, replace our fear with faith! We need God to enable us to be heavenly-minded.

The psalmist reminded the Israelites that God was with them! And God is with us! He goes before us in every circumstance; there are eternal purposes in every event He permits.

His love for us culminated in the death of His beloved Son. He can change our circumstances with one word, but if He chooses not to, that means it is more profitable for us to go through the trial. As long as we rebel, the trial has not produced God’s desired effect. As I look back at very difficult times in my life, times when I thought I was a victim (and too often acted like one), I now see them as precious. I know my heart, and I know that there will be more difficulties; my natural response will be to think that I don’t deserve them or that I have already suffered enough. My hope is that my rebellious reactions will be overcome by faith, that my desire to be like Christ will overpower my desire for comfort, and that my desire for sanctification will overpower my natural desire to please my flesh.

We are in the boat with Christ! That should keep us grateful and rejoicing every day!

This psalm has been inspired by God to help us think rightly in the midst of our trials. May we repent quickly when we rebel, and find the peace that God intended for us all along! How will you apply this truth to your life today?

TROUBLE IS HERE, BUT GOD IS NEAR!

READ PSALM 46

IT IS NOT A SIGN OF WEAKNESS TO RUN TO GOD FOR SHELTER AND STRENGTH

Psalm 46:1-3

1 God is our refuge and strength,

a very present help in trouble.

2 Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way,

though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea,

3 though its waters roar and foam,

though the mountains tremble at its swelling. Selah 

How would you fill in the phrase: My present trouble is…? Dear friend, if you don’t have trouble today, thank the Lord; but I am sure you know someone who is having trouble today. We all know that trouble is just around the corner. This is not a gloomy prediction, but simply a reality of life.

John 16:33

I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” 

Jesus prepared us. Believers, when they become children of God, do not get a special pass to return in the Garden of Eden. But they do receive the privilege of a personal relationship with God, that will accompany them through the difficulties of life.

Are we as aware as we should be that we have a place to find refuge and strength?

A refuge is a place where we can go to be protected during trouble. It does not mean that the difficulty is over, but we are not to be dismayed, for the omnipotent God is our Refuge. The shelter we have cannot be overcome in any way, by anyone. Our strength does not come from the fact that our trouble will end quickly, but by the sure protection we receive. We are tempted to think that we can have peace because our God will stop the difficulty, but God wants us to have peace because He is our shelter. And, my dear friends, we tend to look to God to put an end to our problems, instead of enjoying the blessed fact that our trouble has driven us into His arms.

I love the fact that the writer reminds us that God is a very present help. Our God does not need to be awakened, nor does He become aware of our situation when He hears our first prayer. He has been there, He has allowed the difficulty, He loves to be our shelter, and in fact, that is His intention. He is not pleased when we try to fight through a problem on our own. God desires that we live in His shelter at all times.

God the Father has planned all from eternity past. He provided our entrance into His shelter by revealing Himself to us, and sending His Son to die for us so Jesus could be the way, the door into the shelter. And He has provided the Holy Spirit, our Comforter, to guide us into the shelter and to keep us there. The triune God has planned this, and is pleased to do it.

It is not a sign of weakness to run to God for shelter and strength. It is, indeed, the only wise choice we can make. One who comes humbly, realizing that he needs a shelter and that all other man-made shelters are worthless, even dangerous, is never turned away from God’s arms.

There is no problem too big for God. Even though we might feel that the world is crashing around us, the wise place of shelter is God. Yes, marriages fail, families go through great trials, our health can escape us, the economy and job situation can be overwhelming. Human shelters can be hard to find, but God’s arms are always open wide.

We can stray into the wilderness of the world, create or multiply our trials through sin, but the way to the shelter is always the same: humble repentance and return to Christ. There are no long rituals that must be done; only grace can solve our problems. Dear friend, you have never wandered too far to come back to the wonderful protection of God.

Oh, how easily I am tempted to think that I am going through my trials alone, thinking that I am a victim of circumstances and people, when God is inviting me to find rest in Him. I must say that often we are very stubborn in our ways. God is so very patient with us, isn’t He.

Do you fear your situations? Are you going through a season of worry? Are you becoming bitter? Are you simply rebelling? Please recognize your sin and return to God. Find comfort in the truth you know about God. You can trust the CHARACTER of God, His WISDOM, His POWER, and His LOVE.

Since God is perfect, He cannot do anything wrong. Since He is all-wise, He cannot make any mistakes. Since He is all-powerful, He cannot be overcome, and since He is all-loving, He will never leave you or stop loving you perfectly.

I AM SO GLAD THAT GOD IS MY SHELTER! ARE YOU?