REMINDER: WITH CONCERN FOR HEALTH SAFETY, SPRINGFORD BAPTIST CHURCH WILL NOT MEET IN PERSON FOR SUNDAY SERVICES DURING THIS MONTH OF JANUARY. DURING THIS TIME, ONLINE SERVICES WILL CONTINUE TO BE MADE AVAILABLE THROUGH YOUTUBE EACH WEEK. PLEASE BE PRAYING FOR EACH OTHER AND REACHING OUT BY PHONE TO OFFER LOVE AND SUPPORT.
PSALM 46
God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,3 though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.
4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells.5 God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day.6 Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall; He lifts his voice, the earth melts.
7 The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.
8 Come and see what the Lord has done, the desolations he has brought on the earth.9 He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth. He breaks the bow and shatters the spear;He burns the shields with fire.10 He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth.”
11 The Lord Almighty is with us;the God of Jacob is our fortress.
Psalm 46 KNOWING GOD IN THE STILLNESS
Springford Baptist Church: January 2, 2022.
“Be still and know that I am God.”
We are entering this New Year 2022 and our theme of focus for this coming year will be on “KNOWING GOD.”
Do you feel safe these days?
Many people do not and with good reason. Many uncertainties threaten on the horizon.Yet every day in this new year before us, no matter what is happening, we can choose to “Be still and to know (with confidence) that God is God! (Psalm 46:10)
What comes to your mind when I talk about the Garden of Eden? We know that when God created the first man, Adam and the first woman, Eve, they were given a beautiful garden in which to live. This was the Garden of Eden and in this Garden they could have close relationship with God. We have a description of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day and in the stillness of the garden God was looking for Adam and Eve because He wanted to spend time with them. The Lord called out to Adam, “Where are you”? (Genesis 3:9) The Lord was used to spending time with Adam and Eve in the garden-a place of stillness, a time of closeness and deep peace. But we also know don’t we, how sin affected Adam and Eve as they were living in the beautiful garden. Satan, the Evil One appeared as a serpent and tempted Eve to do the one thing God had said not to do. Adam and Eve had complete freedom to eat fruit from every other tree in the garden. There was only one tree from which they were not to eat and that tree was in the middle of the garden. When Eve disobeyed God and ate from that tree and then persuaded Adam to do the same, sin marred the beauty of the Garden. It marred the close relationship that Adam and Eve had enjoyed with God in the still places of the Garden. Adam and Eve had been able to experience rest in the still places of the Garden because God was close with them. Now that changed. The Lord banished Adam and Eve from the Garden. Sin always brings separation from God.
It is true that so often, “we do not know what we have until it is gone.”
Adam and Eve did not know until it was too late what their disobedience toward God would cost. The completely satisfying rest that they had found in the stillness of God’s Presence was taken from them.
Now we come to back to Psalm 46 and discover in a very personal way that this Psalm extends an invitation back to what it was like for Adam and Eve before the Fall, before sin tarnished relationship with God.
When we are still. When we set aside all the other distractions of the world. When we learn to rest in this stillness of God’s Presence, we can be restored to close relationship with our God. When we are resting in the stillness of being close enough to God that we can feel His breath on us, we can know and be reassured in the deepest places of our being that God is God and that He will protect us and keep us safe.
Knowing that sin separates us from God, we will need to deal with sin in our lives so that we can enter this place of rest and stillness in God’s Holy Presence.
Sin, if not dealt with, grows and entangles and takes over just like a persistent nasty vine wraps around and chokes out other healthy plants .
Only Jesus, God’s Son can redeem us and make it possible for us to find rest and protection in the stillness of God’s Presence. (Romans 3:23,24)
We have the experience of forgiveness for our sins when we first commit our lives to Jesus Christ and become His followers. We are all well aware, aren’t we, that we continue to struggle with sin?!
It is with reason that Jesus includes in the Lord’s Prayer these words, “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.” If we are going to understand and experience what it means to be still and to know that God is God, we need God’s overcoming power to address sin in our lives.
Only as we utilize God’s power to overcome sin can we expect to have rest in Him. We can rest in being still so that God’s close and intimate Presence can wash over us.
As we move again through this Psalm 46 together, we will identify ways that sin could rob us of what God intends and wants to make available to us. God wants us to know Him. Knowing that God is God is possible when we are trusting God and resting in the stillness of His Presence.
vs. 1 God is our refuge and strength an ever-present help in trouble.” Yet when troubles come, there is the temptation to doubt God or to give up on Him. God is longing to protect us with Himself as our refuge and strength. Sin tempts us to try to manage things by ourselves or to push God away.
This verse is often read at funerals and when we face the death of someone we love, we so desperately need the close and soothing reassurance of God’s loving Presence.
vss. 2,3 There are other fearful circumstances that we face and every one of them gives an opportunity to trust God and find comfort in the stillness of His grace.
The description here in these verses is extreme. Even if the earth was to give way and the mountains were to fall into the heart of the sea, still God is God. When our world seems to be coming unstuck, no matter what happens, we can remember that those trusting in God are safe.
vs. 4 The river is a symbol of the continual outpouring of the sustaining and refreshing blessings of God, which make the city of God like the Garden of Eden.
Sin in our lives, threatens the enjoyment of these blessings because sin pulls us away from God and separates us from our God.
vs. 5 “God will help her at break of day…” As dawn approaches, this is the time when attacks against cities were most likely to be launched. God’s help brings on the dawn of deliverance that dispels the night of danger.
Satan tries to convince us that things are hopeless, that God doesn’t really care, that we are going to lose the battle, but NO! “The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress!!
vss.8,9 God is able to bring peace. “He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth.” Our battle with sin is constant,
We can conclude as this Psalm expresses that, The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortess.” (vs. 11) Yes, God is with us! He is our refuge and strength. We can find a safe place of protection with Him. Only as we use His everlasting power to overcome sin can we enter this place of stillness, a return to the Garden of Eden, where we can be so very close to the One who made us. Here we can choose to stay in a place of “being still and knowing that God is God”!