Psalm 46 Meditation | God Is Our Refuge and Strength

Many psalms are about believers in trouble. But none is quite like Psalm 46 in presenting God as the helper of the faithful.
You have reasons to fear. You might fear political upheaval. “The nations rage” (6). Power can inflate our sense of strength. And bad leaders are bold in opposing God. Sometimes political instability can be unnerving. “Nations totter” (6). The accession of “a new king” can bring terrible change (Ex. 1:8-10). You might fear armed conflict. Bows, spears, and chariots are constantly upgrading. War is everywhere. You might fear natural disasters. Mountains “mov[ing] into the heart of the sea” (2) graphically portray the regular upheavals of this groaning planet, and suggests the future dissolution of creation (see Heb. 12:26). We live in scary times.
But we have better reasons not to fear. God is with us in the storm. In fact, we are hidden in his fortress. “God is our refuge and our strength, a very present help in trouble” (1). “The Lord of hosts” (7, 11) commands heaven’s armies against our worst enemies. “He makes wars to cease to the end of the earth” (Ps. 46:9). He revives our joy the way the stream of Siloam brought fresh water into Jerusalem. Psalm 46 portrays the great flood prevailing “mightily on the earth” (Gen 7:19). But Noah and his family “were brought safely through the water” (1 Peter 3:20).
Knowing that God is the refuge of troubled believers how should you respond? You should not fear. God is in control. And he hasn’t given us “a spirit … of fear but of power” (2 Tim. 1:7). You should wait and watch. God will help his church “when morning dawns” (Ps. 46:5; cf. 30:5). In the meantime, don’t focus on your problems but “behold the works of the Lord” (8). You should “be still” (10). Anxiety tempts us to fight, flee, or freeze. But God wants us to rest. You should be glad. For those refreshed by God’s river, the pursuit of joy is perfectly reasonable (Rom. 14:17). And you should worship. God will be “exalted among the nations” (10). Everyone will submit to God one day. Blessed are those who begin now.
“Our true security is in God, not in God plus anything else.” So don’t wait to feel confident in God only when your circumstances change. Right now, if you are a believer, God is your fortress.