Psalm 46:1 (NASB95)
For the choir director. A Psalm of the sons of Korah, set to Alamoth. A Song.
1 God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble.
What a great Psalm! And notice the opening notation…it was “a song” pointedly to be sung. This Psalm also has another verse that has become a popular worship song of our day:
Verse 4 – There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, The holy dwelling places of the Most High.
Today is a day many of us will worship in gathering and singing and sharing in the public teaching of God’s word. A time of refocusing on a God and who he is to us. This Psalm is a wonderful starting place for today’s journey in worship.
Oh yeah…I forgot to mention the word, “trouble” in verse one – it means, “a tight place, or a narrow place.” So it goes sort of like this….”God is my refuge and strength, a very present help in a tight spot. There is a river of refreshing for those who are dwellers of the city of God.”
These two great verses show up in the same chapter that the following words appear: “Cease striving (be still) and know that I am God.”
So… is the “ceasing to strive” cause or effect… you know… is it the chicken or the egg? Which one comes first? Maybe it’s both or either. Do you want to know a God who is a refuge and help in a tight spot? Do you want to drink from the rivers of gladness and refreshing?
Then cease striving!
Let’s prepare our hearts for worship. Let’s tell our “soul” to be quiet and wait (Psalm 62:5). Cease striving… and KNOW…
… that HE…
… is God.
The prayer of the “striven-less” soul: “Lord YOU are God… and I am not!” Now… let’s go to church!
Don’t give… don’t let go…
Pastor Tom Sterbens
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1 user commented in " Cease Striving! "
Follow-up comment rss or Leave a TrackbackPastor… thanks for the encouragement. I wanted to share with you the part of this text that thrills my soul. In vs. 1, “a very present Help…” Surely, our God is “a very present Help.” The literal understanding here is that He is accessible; He is at hand. We don’t have to search for Him, He is here in the midst of our lives. He is at hand, ever-ready, always present.
This passage is “realized” in The Prophecy of Azariah, (II Chronicles 15.1-7) But take note of the word in vs. 4. “But in their distress they turned to the Lord God of Israel, and they sought Him, AND HE LET THEM FIND HIM.”
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