God is Our Refuge 

          I like to stay informed about world events, so I typically watch the evening news, or at least I have until lately. These days, I find myself avoiding the day’s news because so much of it is bad news.

           Covid vaccines aren’t working. Monkey Pox is on the rise. Polio has returned. Gas prices are rising. Inflation is out of control. The stock market is tanking. America faces another mass shooting. A nuclear accident is likely in The Ukraine. There’s no end in sight for droughts and flooding attributed to global warming. And so the bad news goes on and on and on.

           These days, when my wife asks, “Want to watch the evening news?” I’m not quite sure how to respond.

           When people of faith confront this chaotic world, we can’t help but ask, “Where is God in the middle of all this sickness, famine, war, and pain?” Yes, where is God when we need Him most?

           For me, the answer to that haunting question is found in the opening verses of Psalm 46 which states, God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore, we will not fear, though the earth gives way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.”

           Interestingly, the psalmist does not ask God to stop the cataclysmic events of his world. The psalmist realizes that floods, earthquakes, droughts and tragedy are simply a given in his world. Sometimes “the earth gives way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea.”

           Could God stop these cataclysmic events? Of course He could, but for reasons unknown to the psalmist (and to me), God does not. Instead, God provides the psalmist the help he needs to endure the trouble of his world. God provides refuge and strength, and most importantly, God is present with the psalmist as he faces a fearful, chaotic world.

           The bottom line is this. God isn’t always a fixer God.  God doesn’t always stop earthquakes or turn the tide of hurricanes. He doesn’t always hold up levies or alter the plans of vicious gunmen. No matter how much we believe or how hard we pray, sometimes mountains fall into the sea and the waters roar upon us with their surging. But for people of faith, one thing is sure. God is our ever-present help in times of trouble.

           Later in that same psalm the writer offers this piece of advice. He writes, “Be still and know that I am God.” The words literally mean, “Quit struggling and put your arms to your side.” It’s the picture of someone who faints into the arms of the God he trusts. 

           I remember fainting as a little boy. I’d broken a tooth and had just finished getting a root canal. As my dad and I walked out of the dentist’s office I started feeling sick. Before I knew what was happening everything went black and I passed out. Moments later, I found myself on a couch in the furniture store that was beside the dentist office. You see, when I passed out, I instinctively slumped into my father’s arms. And when I did, he caught me and took me to a place of refuge and rest.

           As you and I face the tragic events of our chaotic world the psalmist reminds us “to be still and know that I am God.” When we face our times of trouble, sometimes all we can do is faint into the loving arms of God; and when we do, we quickly discover God is there to catch us and carry us to His place of refuge and rest. 

           So, tonight as we watch the evening news, maybe we can once again remember that God is with us, an ever-present help in time of trouble; and when the trouble seems too much to bear, perhaps it’s time to faint, faint into the arms of our Loving Father.