Many of us have lived through at least one type of natural disaster or another. Some live in areas that are prone to hurricanes, others where earthquakes happen. Where I live tornadoes frequently occur, and blizzards in the winter. Any natural disaster can be scary to go through, especially since they often come without much or any warning, cause so much destruction, and can be deadly. Another scary thing to go through, one that comes from the hands of man, is war. I can only imagine the horror of having an all-out war in one’s own area, the fear of death and destruction at the hands of enemies. Today’s psalm speaks of both types of events. Let’s take a look, and see how our psalmist went through them.
We usually think of the earth as stable, and the mountains as strong and steadfast. However, when the earth starts to quake, buildings fall, roads split apart, and the fires that often follow start to burn everything, we begin to fear. Imagine seeing the once tall and majestic mountains come crashing down! That would be enough to scare the strongest of us! Our psalmist describes what appears to be a very strong earthquake, and possibly a tsunami which followed (vs. 2-3). However, he is not falling into a panic or becoming paralyzed with fear. Instead, he turns to the Lord, and puts his faith and trust in Him (vs. 1).
With God in our lives, we do not need to fear when what we once believed was stable becomes unstable, for He is immovable. The roaring floods cannot erode God’s power or protection (vs. 3). Instead of the destruction in the world’s floods, we can be refreshed from the waters of God’s river (vs. 4).
Another disaster our psalmist writes about is that of wars and attacks of enemies (vs. 6, 9). Wars were frequent occurrences in ancient days, with absolutely no concern for the civilian population or property. Enemy nations would come into an area, killing everybody they saw, including women, children, and the elderly. They would literally flatten the towns. Again, he tells us that we need have no fear, and the Lord is with us and is our refuge (vs. 7, 11). The personal presence of God secures the safety of His people. We are commanded not to panic, and to recognize God’s sovereignty. He is over all the nations and their rulers, no matter how big a ruckus they may make. God is completely adequate in delivering us from the treats of both nature and that of enemies. Wars and destruction will happen, but God will have the final victory. Everyone will stand quiet before Him.
Many of us will never go through a terrible, life-threatening natural disaster, nor go through a war right in our own neighborhood. However, we all go through various types of storms in our life, such as major illnesses, financial crises, family problems, etc. Sometimes they may feel like an earthquake or war! Our psalmist assures us that God is right there, as well. The LORD of hosts is with us! Through this psalm God is telling us to take our hands off our problems. Let Him deal with them. The outcome is in His hands. Go to Jesus with our problems. He invites us to rest in Him (Matthew 11:28-30).
God wants us to cease striving and know that He is God. Let go and relax in Him. Be at peace and lean on Him. Sometimes God allows all of our earthly security to fail us so that we will learn to depend upon Him better. When chaos threatens, whether in our personal lives or in the world at large, remember to seek God. Only then will we have peace.
Life can be like a dark tunnel, and we don’t know what lies ahead. The future can be full of trouble. We need to put our confidence in God, trusting that with Him we are in good hands. From our knowledge, the situation may seem hopeless. However, God’s knowledge exceeds ours. He is our helper, and we can have peace and security. Even if the world ends, we do not need to fear. God is able to save us and take care of us. He is our refuge, even in the face of total destruction. He is our eternal refuge.
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