Psalm 46 Devotional (Youth)

Introduction

New Series

Welcome y’all! We’re starting a new series of teaching on Sunday mornings now. Each week, an FSM leader, elder, or another adult from the church will be doing a teaching on one of their favorite Psalms.

Relevance

The Psalms are such a beautiful section of God’s word, for so many reasons. One of the biggest reasons I wanted to do this series was to demonstrate just how relatable the Word of God is. If you’re feeling an emotion, you can likely find that emotion expressed somewhere in the Psalms. If you’re dealing with a particular situation, you can likely find a parallel in the Psalms. If you are trying to find words to pray to God, you can often find some in the Psalms.

Emotions

And we know that this is God’s word to us, so in a very real way, the Psalms show us how to process our emotions in a God honoring way. They also show us that it’s ok to feel all kinds of emotions, because that’s part of being human.

Story

We will be reading from Psalm 46 today as we kick off this series. You can turn with me there, and while you do, I’ll share a story with you.

I grew up in suburban North Carolina and loved the storms we would get there. If you heard the sermon last week, you know that I was especially fascinated with tornadoes. Although they weren’t nearly as common in North Carolina as in the other parts of the country, they were still a threat. And for some reason I had always hoped I’d be able to see one.

I remember one summer afternoon playing with my brothers at home when we received warning of a tornado that had touched down nearby, so it could be headed our direction. We immediately went down into our crawlspace (an area below our house not a basement) Even as a little kid, I was fully aware that this would not be enough to perfectly protect us if the tornado managed to hit our house.

My excitement started turning into fear. In that moment I felt completely powerless and I began to regret my foolish desire to witness a tornado. My mom comforted my brothers and I as we waited, then she reminded us that we should turn to God for help. She led us into a time of prayer for protection, asking God to stop the tornado or at least turn it aside from our home.

After a few minutes, which felt like hours, we received word that the tornado had changed course and that we were safe. I was no longer afraid of watching our weak, vulnerable hiding place under the house fail to protect us. A much greater, much stronger help had come to our rescue. God himself had demonstrated to my young heart his power over the all things and his trustworthiness as our deliverer.

Scripture

We’ll see some of those truths in this Psalm. So lets go ahead and stand as we read this Psalm together.

Psalm 46 (ESV)

To the choirmaster. Of the Sons of Korah. According to Alamoth. A Song.

God is our refuge and strength,

a very present help in trouble.

Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way,

though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea,

though its waters roar and foam,

though the mountains tremble at its swelling. Selah

There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,

the holy habitation of the Most High.

God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved;

God will help her when morning dawns.

The nations rage, the kingdoms totter;

he utters his voice, the earth melts.

The Lord of hosts is with us;

the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah

Come, behold the works of the Lord,

how he has brought desolations on the earth.

He makes wars cease to the end of the earth;

he breaks the bow and shatters the spear;

he burns the chariots with fire.

“Be still, and know that I am God.

I will be exalted among the nations,

I will be exalted in the earth!”

The Lord of hosts is with us;

the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah

Summary

This psalm expresses a deep trust in God’s protection of his people as a result of his presence and power. Let me repeat that:

This psalm expresses a deep trust in God’s protection of his people as a result of his presence and power.

When we are aware of God’s presence with his us, and we remind ourselves of his power, we can more easily trust in his protection as we go through whatever trial we are facing.

Protection

Psalm 46:1 ESV

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

The very first verse establishes this theme of confidence in God’s protection. The psalmist declares that God is a refuge to which his people can run for safety in the midst of a coming attack, and he is also their strength as they fight the battle. When trouble comes, God’s help is very present, it’s tried and true. When nations are raging against one another, when kingdoms are falling in war and the enemy is advancing quickly, when it seems like nature itself has fallen into a state of complete chaos, the people of God need not be afraid.

You’re obviously not fighting in a physical war right now. But that doesn’t mean you don’t face dangers. You will face physical dangers, spiritual dangers, emotional dangers, and mental dangers. Sometimes it can feel like all these things are happening: Psalms 46:2-3

Psalm 46:2–3 ESV

Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling. Selah

In the midst of chaos and uncertainty, when you feel threatened, know that God is your protection. And because God is your protection, you can stand firm and not be afraid even when you face the most terrifying circumstances.

Presence

Now obviously, being fearless and trusting God’s protection is easier said than done. But there are a few things that we can focus our attention on which will help us to trust him.

First is that God is present with his people. In Psalm 46, verses 4-5, The psalmist declares that God is in the midst of his holy habitation, God is in the midst of Zion. He knew that God dwells with his people, because that’s what God has promised.

Take a look at verses 7 and 11. The repeated refrain in these verses declares that the Lord of Hosts is indeed present with his people. Our fortress in the battle is God himself. Not some fragile building, not something with weak points where the enemy can break in and harm us. And these two are the same for a reason. They strengthen the truth of this phrase. Think of it as the psalmists way of saying this is doubly true. God is with us.

Being reminded of God’s presence can calm our hearts.

A few months ago, we started training my son Owen to sleep better, because he kept waking up multiple times a night and it was getting hard for all of us. A big part of that was reassuring him of our presence. So when he would wake up and cry, I would go into his room and just speak softly to him, reminding him that he was not alone, that Reggie and I were right outside his room, and that he was still safe because we were here. After the first couple nights, it was so cute to watch him calm down immediately when he heard my voice. You could tell that he felt safe enough to go back to sleep when he was reassured that we were there.

God has reminded us countless times in his Word that he is with us. This Psalm makes that a central theme.

Power

It’s not only the truth of God’s presence with us that supports our trust in his protection, but the truth of his power as well.

We see the psalmist describing wars verse 6 and 8.

In stark contrast to the raging kingdoms and nations that cause each other to totter through wars and demonstrations of military might, God can simply utter his voice and the earth itself melts.

We are invited in verse 8 to behold how God has already demonstrated his great power through the destruction of his enemies in previous battle victories. He destroys their weapons and brings and end to their warfare. Through the uttering of his voice he commands the nations to “be still” and he asserts his power as the only true God, not only the God of Zion but the God over all nations. He alone is sovereign. Therefore they must obey the command of his voice to be still.

Whatever you’re facing, it’s not out of God’s control. He has power over the situation, and does all things according to his good, perfect will.

God’s sovereign power over all things and his presence with his people means that he is a trustworthy refuge. He is a mighty deliverer for his people when they face dangers and hard times.

Pointing to Jesus

Whether it’s natural disasters or the consequences of human sinfulness, we can trust in the Lord as our refuge and our strength to deliver us when we face trouble.

And I want to remind you of the beautiful truth that this Psalm points to in Jesus. God has delivered us most of all from the power of sin, Satan, and death, our greatest enemies. His sovereignty over our greatest enemies was powerfully demonstrated on the cross. And Jesus promises at the end of Matthew 28 to be with us always, to the end of the age.

Because of his power and presence, we can trust his protection and we don’t need to be afraid when sin rears its ugly head and threatens to wage war. We are facing a defeated enemy, with God as our refuge and our strength.

Closing Application

We are frequently in need of this reminder because of our tendency as broken human beings to forget God’s presence and power, and to trust in weak and frail fortresses instead of our mighty God.

As a child facing the threat of a tornado, I was filled with fear because I was just trusting in a crawlspace to keep me safe, and I knew it wouldn’t do the job well. Panic set in when I recognized the weakness of my own attempts at self-deliverance. I needed the reminder from my mom to turn to God as my refuge and my fortress, putting my hope in him to deliver me.

You guys are all facing different trials and struggles and hardships. It may be interpersonal conflicts due to sin and brokenness, dealing with the effects of divorce, it may be death and disease, social issues, pressures or bullying at school. Regardless of what you’re facing, my challenge you to is to responding to this Psalms invitation to come and behold the works of the Lord. Come and behold the work of Christ on the cross and his resurrection, the ultimate picture of deliverance from our enemies. Think about those things, read about those things in God’s word. Fill your mind with these truths. There is hope in the midst of our battles only because God is our fortress.

Close in prayer.