back to contents

Psalm 46

• Is there a place you feel most peaceful? Where is it?
• What do you think are the things people worry most about?
• What do you worry about most?

Conflict seems to exist all around us. The lack of peace in our world often contributes to a lack of peace within us. Deep in our spirit we want to find a place of peace and quiet in our lives of noise, conflict, and anxiety. Sometimes we try to escape from our problems. We can try to run to a secluded spot, get lost in things that take our minds off our problems, or blur our consciousness with the aid of a bottle, needle, or pill. Sometimes we get fed up with our problems and take them out on other people. We can vent our frustrations and anger on those around us and create bigger relational problems for ourselves. Sometimes we can give in to our problems and sink into a pit of emotional depression.

Where is God when we are going through times of trouble? Let’s see what Psalm 46 tells us about life as many of us experience it, and where God is when we are experiencing it.

{1} God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. {2} Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, {3} though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging. Selah.

The fact that we will experience problems in our life is indisputable. We all have times of trouble. This psalm tells us that when we have trouble, God is "an ever-present help."

• What are the two things God provides as help to us when we are in trouble?
• How can we take advantage of God’s help?
• What are the natural catastrophes the writer uses as extreme examples of trouble?
• Of what kinds of disturbances in our personal world might these be representative?
• If God is our refuge and strength, what is the effect on us even in the face of these catastrophes?

{4} There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells. {5} God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day.

• What kind of picture does the writer paint of the place where God dwells?
• What is the effect of God’s presence in a place?

{6} Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall; he lifts his voice, the earth melts. {7} The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah.

The writer speaks of national, political disorder. The fact that there is disorder and trouble does not mean God is absent or unable to control His world. If He speaks, the world, even the physical earth, must respond to His sovereignty.

• God is with us, regardless of our circumstance. What word does the writer use to define the Lord that is with us?

Jacob was a man with whom God identified himself—"The God of Jacob." Jacob had a lot of turmoil in his life. He was a schemer at heart, and his schemes always got him into trouble. He was a part of a dysfunctional family. He had open conflict with his brother almost all his life. His will was strong. His life was often in disarray. Yet he believed in God, and in the end God worked through his inner turmoil and the troubles of his life to make him a most important figure in Jewish history. If God could bring peace to the life of Jacob, He certainly can do the same in your life.

• How does God become "our fortress"?

{8} Come and see the works of the Lord, the desolations he has brought on the earth. {9} He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth; he breaks the bow and shatters the spear, he burns the shields with fire.

The hand of God can be seen in the affairs of our world. Sometimes it is in judgment. But always it is in developing peace in the lives of people who follow Him.

• What does verse 9 mean in terms of God’s activity in an individual’s life?

{10} "Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth."

God wants us to recognize that He is God—that He is present in the middle of trouble—and that ultimately His authority will be realized. He wants us to know Him.

• In what kind of mood do we most easily come to know Him?
• What does it mean to "be still"?

{11} The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah.

The writer reinforces the word given before—"The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress." He says this again because this is what we need to know when our world seems to be falling apart. God is not far-off somewhere, unaware of our struggle. He is present. He is almighty. And He wants to be our fortress. We may never escape trouble, but He can keep the trouble from invading our inner life where peace exists.

What do we learn from this psalm?

1. Experiencing trouble goes with living in our world. It may be natural catastrophes or social disorder. It may grow out of happenings in our lives or feelings within our own hearts.
2. God has not abandoned His world.
3. God is present with us even when we are experiencing trouble.
4. Peace is something that can exist in our spirit even if it does not exist in our external world.
5. We need to turn to God, not away from Him when we experience trouble.
6. Peace is the result of trusting in the One who loves us and has the power to protect us from the damage of trouble in our lives.

• What is the trouble that you are experiencing that most disturbs your peace?
• Have you turned toward God in your trouble?

back to contents