Thursday, March 15, 2012

Be Still and know that I am your God

Pslams 46
I. I WILL NOT FEAR!

So let’s look at vs’s 1-3. "God is our refuge & strength, an ever�present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way, & the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar & foam, & the mountains quake with their surging."
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 & the waves & the sea, & all of the elements of nature.
Therefore I will not fear. God is my refuge & my strength."

II. I WILL NOT BE MOVED!

Now look at vs’s 4-7. "There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells. God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day. Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall; He lifts His voice, the earth melts. The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress."
Here he pictures nations in an uproar, kingdoms falling, of great changes taking place. It sounds like today, doesn’t it?
III. I WILL NOT BE FILLED WITH STRESS ANYMORE!

Then it seems that the Psalmist sits back & looks at all the changes that have taken place & he reflects on them with these words in vs’s 8 & 9, "Come & see the works of the Lord, the desolations He has brought on the earth. He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth; He breaks the bow & shatters the spear; He burns the shields with fire."

Then in vs. 10 he says, "`Be still, & know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.’ The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress."

Do you realize what he is saying? He is saying, "In the midst of it all I have decided that I will no longer let my life be filled with stress & anxiety." Why? Because "God is my refuge & my strength."

I wonder if we have forgotten how to relax? How long has it been since you sat down with your family & ate a meal together, & then after the meal just talked and visited & had fun? How long has it been since you took off your shoes & walked barefoot & felt the blades of grass beneath your feet?

How long has it been since you took a long walk in the evening, & watched the sun set? Or sat in a hot tub of water & read a whole chapter of a book without interruption? How long has it been since you just leaned back & relaxed & listened to some good, wholesome music? How long has it been?

How long has it been since you just spent a day & got away from it all? You took your wristwatch off & forgot what time it was & did what you wanted to do, when you wanted to do it?
Someone said that 3 words can summarize how most of us spend our lives - hurrying, worrying, & scurrying. It’s time for us to take the Psalmist to heart, to "Be still, & know that I am God."

IV. THREE GREAT TRUTHS WE CAN DRAW FROM THIS PSALM:

Now let me close by pointing out 3 great truths that we can draw from this Psalm:

A. #1, God is always near & available to us. God never puts us on hold. We may be on hold on the telephone, on hold at the red light, on hold at the bank as we deposit our money, on hold in the post office line, & on hold at the supermarket.

But God is always available & anxious to hear us whenever we want to speak to Him. Some of our problems may be superficial, but others are deep, & God can help us. So talk to Him!

B. Secondly, God’s power is greater than anything in all this world. Greater than winds or storms, or earthquakes, or volcanoes. There is no greater power. God’s power is sufficient to win the victory over all the enemies that come our way. The Psalmist tells us again that "God is our refuge, our strength in times of trouble." So don’t be afraid to ask for His help.

C. Finally, God’s help works even when we can’t help ourselves. Have you felt weak lately? Have you felt like there are too many stresses, & that you’re about ready to explode? God’s help is available, & all you have to do is reach out for it, & grab hold.