“God is our refuge and strength, a helper who is always found in times of trouble. Therefore we will not be afraid, though the earth trembles and the mountains topple into the depths of the seas, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with its turmoil. Selah” (Psalms 46:1-3 HCSB)
I have a confession. I am a news avoider! The thing is no matter how you avoid the news, and we do by not having any form of cable or satellite t.v.; the news will find you. Maybe I should clarify. My husband and I do not actively seek to watch network news of any kind on any regular basis because you see the same stories over and over, many times initial reports have speculation that later is found untrue. and if you allow it to, it can become overwhelming and depressing. That is not to say we do not stay informed by seeking out news from reputable sources, however.
Just a quick look at headlines from around the world and we can see stories of drought, flooding, wild fires, predictions of a possible eruption from a volcano or super-volcano, tsunamis, cyclones, wars, threats of wars, enemy planes flying into the territory of other countries, threats from Isis on the U.K, and U.S.A., even people being persecuted and killed for their beliefs. The writer of Psalm 46 tells us even when these things happen we should not be afraid. As a matter of fact, you have probably heard as I have that the Word of God contains at least 365 verses the admonish us to ‘fear not’ and ‘do not be afraid’; one for each day of the year. The thing is, though it is good to be informed about world events and situations, if we are not careful we can get caught up in fear.
If I am honest, I have to admit that I am a recovering worrier and I was taught by one of the best! I also should say that I came to a decision many years ago that worrying did nothing but waste my time. Few of the things I worried about ever happened and those that did were not in my control. I could not stop them from occurring so what was the point of worrying? It did not prepare me to handle them any better. I came to realize worry was just a a symptom of doubt and mistrust and my attempt at control. Perhaps my thinking was if I thought about every possible scenario, I could be better prepared or could head it off; holding on to some semblance of control. In reality, what I learned is to a great extent control is just an illusion. There are times we can not even control our own self, how in the world did I ever believe I could control the bigger things in life?
For me to be In Christ and hold on to those worries, fears, and need to feel in control was (choking on my words…) unbelief. Even now, that is hard to say! The truth is I fully believed He was who He said He was; for goodness sake He created the world and everything in it out of virtually nothing. Rather than getting hung up on whether or not I believed He could do what He said, my hang up was more on whether He would do it for me. I never doubted God’s ability and had faith that all His mighty works were true. I just questioned my worthiness for Him to act on my behalf. That was until I joined a group of ladies in a study of the patriarchs. When you examine the lives of the people that God used mightily throughout the scriptures, you see He used all types of people but the one common thread was they all were flawed. They made mistakes, poor decisions, and at times were in rebellion to God. That did not stop God from accomplishing His will through them, nor sit it stop Him from acting on the behalf of His people.
One quick example is when the Hebrew people cried out to God for deliverance. God sent Moses and brought them out of slavery with His mighty hand, delivering their enemies into the Red Sea. Yet, after wandering in the desert they began to long for the tasty food of their old life and began to grumble against God. The manna of Heaven was no longer sufficient for them, they wanted meat. God provided them with meat, literally more than they could stand in the form of quail; despite the ungratefulness of their heart, He still moved on their behalf. The bottom line is that there really is nothing that we can ever do to be worthy of God’s love, of Jesus’ sacrifice, or of God moving on our behalf! When God moves on our behalf, no matter how big or small; it is because of His goodness and His faithfulness! It is because of His character we can face personal crisis, chaos and even world crisis with strength and courage. We can choose to trust Him and trust in His love and faithfulness rather than collapse under fear and discouragement! He is calling us…”Be still and know He is God!”
God is our refuge and strength, a helper who is always found in times of trouble. Therefore we will not be afraid, though the earth trembles and the mountains topple into the depths of the seas, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with its turmoil. Selah There is a river — its streams delight the city of God, the holy dwelling place of the Most High. God is within her; she will not be toppled. God will help her when the morning dawns. Nations rage, kingdoms topple; the earth melts when He lifts His voice. The Lord of Hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our stronghold. Selah Come, see the works of the Lord, who brings devastation on the earth. He makes wars cease throughout the earth. He shatters bows and cuts spears to pieces; He burns up the chariots. “Stop your fighting — and know that I am God, exalted among the nations, exalted on the earth.” Yahweh of Hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our stronghold. Selah (Psalms 46:1-11 HCSB)
Living in His Grace 