Psalm 46

The LORD Almighty Is With Us

7.4.24 [Psalm 46] River of Life (11th Sunday after Pentecost)

Unless you’re about to mow a lawn full of them or you’re a kid looking for slingshot ammo, acorns tend to fly under the radar. Acorns don’t grab headlines or get people worked up. Unless you’re Chicken Little.

You know the fable in some form. Chicken Little is unexpectedly hit on the head by something. It’s an acorn in some versions. Since Chicken Little didn’t see what hit her, she assumes the worst and, sounds the alarm to all the other fowl farm animals. The sky is falling! The sky is falling!

Her warning causes her friends to panic and well, run around like chickens with their heads cut off. A rooster, a duck, a goose, and a turkey all decide that they must tell their king. And this is where some of the stories head in different directions. In some versions of this story, the panicking poultry meet with the king and he sets them straight. In other versions, a fox exploits their hysteria and leads them into his den where he devours them. That darker version probably does a better job of driving home the moral of the story. When you’re driven by fear you’re doomed to make desperate decisions that often lead to dreadful consequences. In one, the dreadful consequence is…embarrassment. In the other, it’s being eaten by a crafty fox. Anyone who hears the fable gets the moral.

The problem we all have is distinguishing acorns from deadly dangers. There are times when the alarm bells must be sounded. There are real threats to body and life that must be taken seriously. So how do we know what we are really dealing with and how we ought to respond?

That’s not something a short story like Chicken Little is equipped to explain. Thankfully, we have a greater and deeper wisdom to rely on.

In Psalm 46, about the only thing that isn’t falling apart is the sky. (Ps. 46:3) The waters of the sea are roaring and foaming. (Ps. 46:2) The earth is giving way. (Ps. 46:3) The mountains are quaking and falling into the heart of the sea. And it’s not just natural disasters. (Ps. 46:6) Nations are in uproar. Kingdoms are falling. Any of those things are frightening all by themselves. These events don’t seem like the acorn falling from a tree and striking Chicken Little’s head. Immovable objects are melting like candle wax. Powerful empires are collapsing. Catastrophe is striking left and right. Chaos ensues. Where do we turn in these moments? What should we do? Where have you run?

More than likely, you’ve lived through a few chaotic times. Catastrophe has struck too close to home. You’ve seen rock-solid investment plans go up in smoke. You’ve watched helplessly as the waters of the world economy roar and foam and threaten to sweep away everything you’ve saved, everything you’ve worked a lifetime for. Medical catastrophes cost an arm and a leg. So much of life is outside of our control. Where do we turn in these moments? What should we do?

And even though we live in a country that has historically had great power and enjoyed considerable peace, there are times when political saber-rattling wrecks our lives and the lives of people we love. When nations are in uproar, when kingdoms are falling, who is it that is sent into the thick of things? It is not the political leaders. It’s regular people who serve in our armed forces. It’s men and women who carry a badge and a gun. Maybe that’s you. Maybe it’s your friends, your neighbors, your family members. They’re in the thick of the chaos. They’re dealing with the messes. And those experiences produce scars and damage. Where do we turn in these moments? What should we do?

But they aren’t the only crises we encounter, are they? There are devastating disasters like disease, divorces, and deaths that blindside us. Children and spouses get sick. Parents separate. Loved ones lie lifeless in a coffin. In moments like these, it may feel like the rocks we have relied on have given way. Where do we turn in these moments? What should we do? In times of crisis and catastrophe, all people need refuge. Where do you turn? Whom do you run to?

Those who don’t know the strength of the God of Jacob try to escape trouble in many ways. Maybe they think they’ve got enough money or connections or intellect to wiggle their way out. If not, they may look to some thing to give them a rush of pleasure or to take the edge off their pain—food, drink, drugs, entertainment—anything to distract them.

But it’s not just unbelievers who respond this way to trouble, is it? You and I fall into these same foolish traps, don’t we? We rely on temporal things to help deliver us from trouble. We look to God plus something.

In our hearts and minds, what protects us from financial ruin is God and our strong work ethic and what we have squirreled away. What protects us from the horrors of warfare is God and the fact that we live in the United States. What protects us from disease is God and our healthy habits and good genes. What protects us from relational carnage is God and our charming personality. What protects us and our loved ones from an untimely or tragic death is God and the fact that we live in a pretty safe neighborhood and we don’t do anything dangerous.

I’m not saying that any of those things—working hard, saving money, living in the US, healthy habits, being a nice person or living cautiously—is sinful. They are prudent practices. But they don’t guarantee anything because they don’t have that power. They’re temporal things.

Relying on God plus those things is like living in a castle with thick stone walls on three sides and a white picket fence on the fourth side.

If you are the enemy and you see that, where are you going to attack?

That’s one of the deep truths of the book of Job. Job was a guy that had a great family, great wealth, & great health. Life was good. And the devil came to God and said Job only trusts you because you’ve given him a good life. If he didn’t have all that stuff, he’d despise you.

But despite everything that Satan threw at him, Job remained steadfast. God was his refuge and strength. Even as the earth gave way, even as his wealth disappeared overnight, even as he was burying beloved kids, even as it looked like his whole life was falling apart, Job knew the Lord Almighty was with him. The God of Jacob was his fortress.

At the same time, don’t you look at Job and think: I wish I had his faith, but I’m glad I don’t have his life? I wish I knew the Lord Almighty was with me, like he did?

Well you don’t have to wish. There is evidence that the Lord Almighty is with you and it’s not found in the comfortable life that God may have blessed you with. The proof that God is your ever-present help in trouble is the life, death, and resurrection of his Son, Jesus Christ.

When God saw the war that had begun on this earth when Adam and Eve fell into sin, he lifted his voice and made a promise. I will send my champion to fight for you. I will be your Redeemer and your refuge.

That’s why Jesus came. He knew that in our selfishness & foolishness we would rely on unreliable, temporal things to do what only he could do. He knew that sin had infected us and wrecked us. He recognized that, by nature, we were all rebels waging a foolish war against God.

So he came to show us mercy and grace. He came to call lost sinners to repentance. Jesus promised that he would secure peace through the sacrifice of his holy, precious blood. His strength was expended in securing our salvation. But it was not a pretty scene. Our redemption did not look like a victory in the moment. It was ugly. Brutal.

As Jesus suffered on the cross, his enemies gloated. As he died on the cross, the people who loved him left thinking it was a tragedy. They beat their chests and mourned his death as a loss. But three days later, they saw what the Lord Almighty had done. He broke the bow of Satan. Sin had been atoned for and the Evil Foe could no longer accuse God’s people any longer. Jesus shattered the spear of death. The Lord Almighty announced to his enemies: Be still and know that I am God. You lifted me up on a cross to shame me, but I am exalted in the earth. You challenged me to come down from the cross to prove that I was the Son of God, but I stayed there so that many might be made children of God. Sinners from all nations rally to me for redemption.

When Jesus lifts his voice, the unimaginable happens. He scolds the sea and instantly the storm ceases. He tells lame men to get up and they grab their mat and walk without a day of physical therapy. He rebukes self-righteous hypocrites and they put down their stones. He identifies himself as the Jesus of Nazareth and temple guards fall down like dead men. He greets frightened disciples and they are gladdened.

The Lord Almighty is with his people. God is our refuge and strength. We don’t have to be driven by fear, because the perfect love of the Lord Almighty drives out all our fear. The Word of God has the power to replace our anxiety, worry, & fear with joy, confidence, & trust. The rivers of the Water of Life bring us joy. The Most High dwells among us. He has proven to be our help in trouble. He invites us to (Ps 50:15) call upon him in any time of trouble, he will deliver us and we will honor him.

This is key for us as Christians. We may look at people like Job and admire their faith and hope to avoid their troubles. But, I implore you to step back and take a wider view. How many of those whose faith you admire faced hardships you’d do anything to avoid? Famine and infertility for Abraham. Death threats and doubters for Moses. A giant attacked David. His king hunted him like a dog. His son staged a coup. Esther risked her life to speak up for her people. Paul was beaten, abandoned, & shipwrecked. Trouble drives us to seek shelter. Crises cause us to look for help. The Lord Almighty was with each of them.

When the acorn falls on our heads, we need not run around in a panic like Chicken Little. God will use it for our good. God will grow our faith. He will continue to keep all his promises and we will experience what it means to have the Lord as our refuge and strength, our ever-present help in our days of trouble. Then we will understand what Isaiah said. The Lord Almighty has come to proclaim good news to the poor, to bind up the brokenhearted, to comfort all who mourn, to give us a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. Then he will make us to be oaks of his righteousness. Amen.