¹God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. ²Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change and though the mountains slip into the heart of the sea; ³though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains quake at its swelling pride. Selah.

When faced with struggles, some of us put on a fight, we rise to the challenge, and others shrink back. But with every battle comes a threat to our well-being. It may be physical, emotional, financial, relational, or institutional. The enemy of our souls wants to tear us down, and he knows our weaknesses, the places where we fear. God’s perfect love casts out all fear (1 John 4:18), but unless one is perfect in faith, the element of fear is not always easily assuaged.

Wherever we are on the spiritual strength scale (if we can put it that way), we need to be honest by admitting our fears first to ourselves and then to God. Then, and only then, will we be in a position to trust that God is our protective security and that we have nothing to fear. The apostle John reminds us that “greater is He who is you that he who is in the world” (1 John 4:4).

Psalm 46 has brought comfort and assurance to multitudes of believers and is often quoted in Christian counseling. “God is our refuge and strength.” This is a truth we must not just sit on as accurate; we must fully lay out our lives on it. We all fear, but the question is, what will we do with our fears? Will we rest in the Lord and seek His protection? The psalmist speaks of earthquakes, avalanches, and tsunamis in verses 2-3, all physical dangers that can terrify people living in areas where these are common. But we could add to the list financial recessions and runaway inflation, political upheaval and suppressive governments, and many things in our modern world that are beyond our control.

Our faith must be anchored not just on stopping the threat that causes our fears but on eternity, a much higher view than our physical, mortal protection. In the ancient city of Jerusalem, God had established His symbolic presence in the temple Solomon built. The psalmist calls this the City of God. Supplying water to the city necessitated ingenuity: being located on a small mountain, it required tunnels and aqueducts to be constructed to take full advantage of nearby water springs. However, there was no river of plentiful water easily accessible to the city—the Jordan River was about eighteen miles away and much lower in elevation.

But faith takes us to a higher perception of the truth beyond the physical. In verses 4-7, we read, “There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God.” For NT believers, we can miss the similarity with what the apostle John saw in his vision of New Jerusalem at the end of time:

Then he showed me a river of the water of life, clear as crystal, coming from the throne of God and of the Lamb, in the middle of its street. On either side of the river was the tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. (Rev. 22:1–2)

Indeed, that river will “make glad the city of God” (Ps. 46:4). The psalmist is taking us above and beyond our present fears. With this kind of faith, we can rest in our God whose voice will melt the earth (vs. 6, see 2 Peter 3:12); the power when God speaks eclipses the “uproar” of the nations. In this, we are reminded of an early psalm of David:

The voice of the Lord is upon the waters; the God of glory thunders, the Lord is over many waters. The voice of the Lord is powerful, the voice of the Lord is majestic. (Ps. 29:3–4)

For Israel, that meant a hope that one day God would exalt the nation. For us, our great hope is yet future when God brings things to a culmination with a new heaven and new earth (see Isa. 65:17, Rev. 21:1). Nothing can withstand the power and strength of God, who spoke creation into existence. He easily controls earthquakes, avalanches, and tsunamis in our lives. Modern technology gives us voice control over our electronic devices, but God has voice control over everything! No wonder we can find security in God, who “is our stronghold” (vs. 7).

One of the greatest threats is war; believers in some countries experience this firsthand, but even in developed nations, the threat of nuclear war started by rogue nations is ever-increasing. Our God sits in powerful authority even over the making of wars. He can use the evil machinations of totalitarian leaders for His purposes (vss. 8-9)—see, for example, the book Habakkuk, where God uses the Chaldeans to discipline Israel through military conquests. In the imagery of the ancient world, God can bring wars to an end and break the mighty weapons of warfare. Nuclear power is no match for our God! He is in control, and we believe in Him. Our Lord’s goal is that He would “be exalted among the nations … in the earth” (vs. 10).

So, what do we do with all this truth about God? We have the answer before us in verse 10. “Cease striving and know that I am God.” The better-known translation is, “Be still and know that I am God” (most other English translations). Some commentators suggest this verse is directed at warring nations to stop striving against Israel and to recognize God. However, it is better in the context of trusting God to see encouragement to believers. Amid what we fear, God’s purpose for us is to know Him, to meet Him in trial or difficulty, and to see that He can be trusted as our stronghold, our refuge, and our protective security. He wants us to set aside our anxiety and fear, and rest in Him, our immovable protector and sovereign Lord.

Lord, I trust in You, for You are my refuge, strength, help, and stronghold. Selah!