Meditations for Difficult Days - No. 2 - Incredible Faith
Pastor’s Blog - By Pastor Roy Summers
Psalm 46:1 "God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble."
Psalm 46:2-3, "Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging."
Yesterday we considered verse 1, today it's verses 2-3.
Total Chaos!
The psalmist imagines the very worst scenarios possible! He imagines the mountains - ever symbols of strength and stability, places you run to in a storm or tsunami - quaking and then falling apart and crashing into the sea! So shall we escape the once-strong mountains and find refuge perhaps in a boat on the sea? No chance! There is no place to run, because the sea is now just as dangerous as the mountains have become! The sea is roaring and foaming!
It is harder to imagine a scenario more desperate and dangerous than this one! The very earth gives way and is engulfed by the sea.
In Old-Testament speak this is the undoing of Day 3 of creation (Genesis 1:9) when God created dry ground by separating sea from sea. The psalmist imagines creation being undone, and the order imposed by God reverting back to chaos.
The psalmist imagines the very worst scenario possible.
Have you ever said to yourself "that's the end for me", "there is no hope" or "I can't see a way out of this one?" Some of us fall prey to what has been called catastrophic thinking. Our minds quickly move from one small "piece of evidence" to end-of-the-world story lines. For example, your child is home late from school and the sound of an ambulance makes your mind run to the worst outcome.
What is it that you most fear today? The Coronavirus taking away a loved one? Some other lurking fear?
The psalmist imagines the very worst scenario.....
Total Trust!
...but then he says "We will not fear!" If the very worst thing happens to me I will not fear! That is incredible faith; this exclamation demonstrates a high trust in God. Wouldn't you like to have that kind of faith? "Whatever happens I will not fear!"
But notice there is a ground or reason for his trust: it's in the little word "therefore." He will not fear the worst because God is his refuge and strength. His hope and trust is not in his money, his job, his health, his education, his family; his hope is in almighty God alone, just as David writes in Psalm 62:1 "My soul finds rest in Godalone; my salvation comes from him."
This is the true secret of a calm and quiet soul: our trust is God alone. The God who loves us, the God who is all powerful, and the God who is for us, such that no-one can be harmfully against us!
So today, whatever the future holds, let us take hold of God's Word and believe it! Let's say - outloud if need be! - "Therefore we will not fear!" - over and over again - "Therefore we will not fear!" - to one another- "Therefore we will not fear!" - husband to wife - "Therefore we will not fear!" - daughter to mother - "Therefore we will not fear!" We will not fear Coronavirus, we will not fear unemployment, we will not fear illness, we will not fear poverty, we will not fear, even, death itself. Because the omnipotent Triune God is with us, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
A SONG FOR THE DAY
How sweet the Name of Jesus sounds
In a believer's ear!
It soothes his sorrows, heals his wounds,
And drives away his fears.
It makes the wounded spirit whole
And calms the troubled breast;
'Tis manna to the hungry soul,
And to the weary, rest.
Dear Name! the Rock on which I build
My shield and hiding-place
My never-failing treasury filled
With boundless stores of grace.
Jesus my Shepherd, Saviour, Friend,
My Prophet, Priest, and King,
My Lord, my Life, my Way, my End,
Accept the praise I bring.
Weak is the effort of my heart,
And cold my warmest thought;
But when I see you as you are,
I'll praise you as I ought.
I would your boundless love proclaim
With every fleeting breath;
And so may the music of your Name
Refresh my soul in death.
John Newton
Beautifully sung here by Chris Bowater
A PRAYER FOR TODAY
Our gracious Father in heaven,
How slow we are to learn, and how weak is our faith! When faced by trials we all too often turn to idols or crumble under the load. Teach us by your Holy Spirit and through your Word to trust in you and you alone, so that we can say even when mountains crash all around us "We will not fear!"
Do this for the sake of your Son, our Saviour, our Master, our Friend, in whose lovely Name we pray.
Amen
Pastor's Blog
This post is taken from our Pastor Roy Summers’ blog, where he discusses and comments on a wide range of current subjects and issues both in the world and in the church.