God Is For Us: Part III

Psalm 46:4–7 KJV 1900

There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, The holy place of the tabernacles of the most High. God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved: God shall help her, and that right early. The heathen raged, the kingdoms were moved: He uttered his voice, the earth melted. The Lord of hosts is with us; The God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.

Introduction

Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you wondered how in the world you were going to get out of it?

You ever got your car stuck in the mud and tried and tried but the more you tried the worse it got? Maybe you’ve been stuck in traffic before and you try to take a “shortcut” only to find that the new route you took leads you to a worse situation.

It’s easy to find ourselves in a predicament physically where we have no idea how we are going to get out of it. But what happens when we are surrounded spiritually by oppression?

How do we respond when it seems there is no way out of what we’ve found ourselves in? How can we be encouraged? What gives us the courage to continue?

In these verses Hezekiah gives us Three Reasons to Find our confidence in God and remind us of the fact that God is for us.

God Is Our Portion (v. 4)

Psalm 46:4 KJV 1900

There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, The holy place of the tabernacles of the most High.

Hezekiah speaks of a river. The interesting thing about Jerusalem, the city of God, is that it did not have a river running through it.

A river of water would have been necessary for a person’s survival in that day. It wasn’t like today where you could just turn on a faucet and you instantly have water. They went to a source for water.

In fact, it was Hezekiah had wisely built an underground water system so that they would have taken from to sustain them.

So Hezekiah takes the very situation that they have found themselves in, and he illustrates the fact that God is their portion.

While there was not a physical river running through the city of God, Jehovah God represents a life giving stream for those who will taste of Him.

Psalm 34:8 KJV 1900

O taste and see that the Lord is good: Blessed is the man that trusteth in him.

There is a river that will never run dry. It is the only river that can quench the thirsting of your soul. While people try to fill the void in their life with things of this world, only Jesus can satisfy that desire they long for.

Revelation 22:17 KJV 1900

And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.

If you are here and don’t know Christ as your Savior, the invitation is clear, Come.

But even after salvation, there is still a river. Christ is our portion. Even though Jerusalem you could say was dry of water, God would sustain them with His power.

Sometimes in this life we can go through dry spells. We have no might in and of ourselves. We come to the end of ourselves. While it may appear that we are in a desert spiritually, there is a river!

God wants to sustain you. He wants you to come to Him and put your trust in Him.

God Is Powerful (v. 6)

Psalm 46:6 KJV 1900

The heathen raged, the kingdoms were moved: He uttered his voice, the earth melted.

Notice, this verse declares that all God had to do in order to make the earth melt was say the word. There’s a couple things I want to point out from this. First of all, notice the power of the Word of God.

What God says is powerful. I would remind us today that the Word that has been left for us, the Bible, is a powerful book!

Hebrews 4:12 KJV 1900

For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

The Bible is not an ordinary book. The Bible is a life changing book because of its divine author. That’s why we can draw strength from what this book says.

That’s why every week we open up the Scriptures and tell you what it says and not just some moving story. God’s Word is powerful! It can make the earth melt.

But also realize the control that God has.

Matthew 8:27 KJV 1900

But the men marvelled, saying, What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him!

So often we worry and fret about things, and fail to realize that God is in control of everything. Hezekiah had a whole nation that wanted to oppose him and destroy him.

He declares in this psalm, “God you have the power to just say the word and everything will be alright.” He had a correct perspective of his situation because he had a correct perspective of God.

I want to challenge you this week, when you start worrying or complaining about something. Remember, God is in control. If He wants to, He can say a word and change everything.

Knowing that He is in control will help you rest better. It will help put your mind at ease. It will help you to live with more confidence. He is all-powerful.

God Is Ever Present (v. 5, 7)

Psalm 46:5 KJV 1900

God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved: God shall help her, and that right early.

Psalm 46:7 KJV 1900

The Lord of hosts is with us; The God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.

Jerusalem was surrounded by the enemy. They had nowhere to turn. But God was in the midst of them. As it says in verse 7, God was their refuge. Their place of shelter.

I love the old hymn that says, “The Lord’s our rock, in Him we hide, a shelter in the time of storm. Secure whatever ill be tide, a shelter in the time of storm. O, Jesus is the rock in a weary land, a weary land, a weary land, O Jesus is the rock in a weary land, a shelter in the time of storm.”

We asked this at the beginning, but do you ever feel like you are surrounded on every side by the forces of Satan? Spiritually you are oppressed. You look for a way out of your situation, but every road is blocked off.

It reminds me of the three Hebrew boys in the fiery furnace. There was no escape from the fire. They were thrown in that fiery furnace. But the Bible records for us:

Daniel 3:25 KJV 1900

He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.

They were in the fire, but guess who was with them? God.

Hebrews 13:5 KJV 1900

Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.

Matthew 28:20 KJV 1900

Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

The Lord of hosts is with us today. And He is with you if you are His child.

Conclusion

God is our portion. He is that river that will sustain us through our trials. He is powerful. He is in full control of your situation. He is ever present. Know that even though others may fail and forsake you, our God never will.