His Glory; Our Peace
Psalm 46
Like Psalm 46, many of us have experienced seasons where our confidence or assurance in life has been severely shaken. In fact, many of us might be experiencing such a season right now--whether it's the discouraging news in the world, difficulties at work, relational tension, personal discomfort, or struggles in our relationship with God. Psalm 46, however, reminds us that we can find assurance by looking to God. There are three reasons.
First, God is strong (vv. 1-3). No matter how tempestuous our lives are, "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble" (v. 1). He is capable of being our anchor of peace regardless of what we are experiencing. He is the one who is in control and sovereign over every situation in this world and in our personal lives--regardless of how volatile these situations appear to be.
Second, God is for and with his people (vv. 5-7). The image is that God's people live in a city that not only has a constant stream of resources (v. 4), but that God's presence is with her (v. 5). Once again, God's power is emphasized as he is called the "Lord of hosts" (v. 7), which means that he has all of the host of his angelic army at his disposal; because this Lord of hosts "is with us" (v. 7), it emphasizes that God will use these resources for our benefit. However, some of us might question why God would love us like this, especially since some of us are struggling in our relationship with him? All of this is because Jesus Christ was forsaken for our behalf, as we were reminded last week. Because Jesus died for our sins, God has committed himself to be our fortress.
Third, we can be reassured because, in the end, God will be exalted (v. 10). This last reason might seem irrelevant to many of us since we are so focused on ensuring that our lives transpire according to our preferences and expectations. But recognizing that God will be exalted provides tremendous comfort when we think about at least two things. First, since God has been so faithful and good to us, why wouldn't we want him to receive all the glory, even in the face of our own discomfort? If we truly submit to the gospel, then this should provide us with great peace that he will receive the glory that he alone deserves. Second, because Jesus resurrected from the grave, his Spirit is alive and living in us. The primary purpose of the Spirit is to conform us to become more like Jesus, which means that we care less about our own preferences and more about God's glory. Thus, we once again find great assurance that even though we don't know how our own lives will turn out, we at least are guaranteed that he will be forever exalted.
So allow the Spirit to reassure you through Psalm 46 in the midst of life's vulnerabilities because our God is strong, our God is for and with us, and our God will be exalted!
