Associate Pastor for Congregational Care
“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change, though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea; though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble with its tumult….In the wake of earthquakes in Japan and tsunami waves along many Pacific coastlines, the words of Psalm 46 resonate with me: “we will not fear… though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea; though its waters roar and foam…”
“‘Be still, and know that I am God! I am exalted among the nations, I am exalted in the earth.’ The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge.” PSALM 46:1-4, 10, 11
It presents a word picture that has in past days played large on television screens all over the world. What does it mean to say—in the face of death and destruction and devastation, “we will not fear”?
Certainly, there is much to be afraid about, but the voice of the psalmist, that poet laureate of the ancient Israelites, calls the people to steadfast trust in God; a God who is in the midst of the city, who will not be moved, who is our refuge, who is WITH US, even while the tumult threatens to sweep us away.
At last, the psalmist calls us to still ourselves, even in the midst of the chaos, and know—deep in our souls—that God is there. God is there, in the chaos of natural disaster and of runaway nuclear reactors. God is there, in the chaos of war and uprising. God is there, in the chaos of our lives.
In this Lenten Season, perhaps those final verses could become our spiritual discipline, our calling to “be still and know” the God who is with us always.
Gracious God, you are an ever-present God, eternally with all those whose lives are tumbled and tossed by chaos and change. Strengthen us by your Spirit to still ourselves even as turmoil swirls around us, to know that you are a steadfast and loving God, to find ourselves in your presence, and to discover in you our refuge. AMEN.
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