Psalm 46 (NRSV)
Read Psalm 46 on biblegateway.com
Verse 1God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
Verse 2Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change, though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea;
Verse 3though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble with its tumult. Selah
Verse 4There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy habitation of the Most High.
Verse 5God is in the midst of the city; it shall not be moved; God will help it when the morning dawns.
Verse 6The nations are in an uproar, the kingdoms totter; he utters his voice, the earth melts.
Verse 7The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah
Verse 8Come, behold the works of the Lord; see what desolations he has brought on the earth.
Verse 9He makes wars cease to the end of the earth; he breaks the bow, and shatters the spear; he burns the shields with fire.
Verse 10"Be still, and know that I am God! I am exalted among the nations, I am exalted in the earth."
Verse 11The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah
Devotion
Look at what Hurricane Katrina did, what the earthquake in China did, what the tsunami in Southeast Asia did, what a flood by the Cedar River did, what tornadoes in the midwest did. Most of us did not see these first-hand, but the media showed us. And, unlike the author of Psalm 46, few suggested that God did them. Those who made such assertions quickly got into deep trouble for concluding that God was punishing the victims.
Most people today are too secularized to think that such desolations are God's activity. But we who worship each Sunday and pray each day cannot avoid the issue: How is God involved in natural events? Do we not fear them and do not some even consider them a help? Do they cause us to dream of the heavenly Jerusalem and eternal peace?
Prayer
Lord, give me, please, some of the calm and hope that Psalmist had when calamities happen. Amen.