An Ever Present Help in Trouble 2

AN EVER PRESENT HELP IN TROUBLE 2

Psalm 46:1-5

King James Version

1 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

² Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea;
³ Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof. Selah.
⁴ There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the most High.
⁵ God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved: God shall help her, and that right early.

After writing the first part of this post when the Lord laid Ps. 46: 1-5 on my heart, I have been thinking and mediating on this passage (one of my favourite in scripture) what really stood out again is the fact that verse one says, God is a very present help in trouble, simply put he is there when you and I are in trouble not just present but VERY present. To me that means in trouble his presence takes control and becomes a refuge from the storm and a source of strength to keep us from falling and giving up.

Verse 2 says Therefore we will not fear in other words because God is with you no matter how harsh the storms you are facing even if your world physically, emotionally or in any other way seems to be falling apart, or the mountains are carried and thrown into the sea, the waters roar – that shows how angry and fierce the storm is, you can rest assured that you’ll get through it. We can liken the storm of death or loss to natural disasters, tornadoes, hurricanes, tsunamis or earthquakes and easily recall the devastation they leave behind when they come calling. The most technologically advanced man made strategies put in place cannot hinder them. Many times even the most prepared nations ask people to evacuate areas where such disasters are expected. Why? The storm is to powerful and carries death and destruction with it. Yet God says He is a refuge in the midst of these kinds of storms.

You may have lost your husband or loved one to a natural disaster so you have experienced the strength of the storm of loss and grief but remember God is stronger and through it all He is with you. The loss of your husband or loved one has the impact of a storm with such a powerful force that could not be contained.  It came uninvited and stole something from you. Now you feel like you are still in the midst of the storm that is threatening to overwhelm you. The good news is that God is there with you.

I am reminded of the story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in Daniel 3:1-30. These were foreigners who had risen to prominence in Babylon. Then one day king Nebuchadnezzar builds an image of gold and commands everyone to worship it with dire consequences for anyone who refuses. But because these men knew their God and that he was well able to save them in verse17 – 18 they tell the king that they know God will save them but if he chooses not to, they will not bow to his image. From the passage we find the King had threatened saying “who is that God that will deliver you out of my hands ‘ Nebuchadnezzar was about the most powerful man on earth and had the ability and capacity to make good His threat. He didn’t think any God could save them or anyone else from his hands no matter how powerful the God was.

At this point I remember the many times I asked God why didn’t you save my husband from that accident?  Why didn’t you avert it, make him miss that car and so on and so forth. You probably may have wondered or asked the same question. Our God is the Almighty one who can do and undo all power belongs to him, He can save, heal and deliver so why didn’t He? As a result of God’s perceived inaction or failure to deliver our husbands or loved ones some of us have turned our backs on him in anger.  Some may have wondered “what good is a God that cannot keep my husband from dying? But not these Hebrew men remember they were brought to Babylon as prisoners of war.

They were young with their whole lives ahead. They were obviously from godly homes because we see them refusing to eat meat from the kings table because it had been sacrificed to idols in keeping with their Jewish beliefs. Yet they never turned their backs on God we have no record that they ever returned home or where reunited with their families but as far as they were concerned even if God chose to allow them to be thrown into a burning furnace to be roasted to death for choosing to honour him they were okay by it, totally submitted to God’s, will and desire for their lives knowing it is always best.

This was something I struggled so much with.  My belief was God would satisfy my family and I with long life because we were believers and specifically ask God for protection and long life without deliberately doing any life threatening thing so anything short of long life was unacceptable. This made it so difficult to accept my husband’s early death. However as Christians if we have done what we know to do we should leave the results in God’s hands because He alone has the big picture and regardless of what we have experienced he does all things our best interest.