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.
– Psalm 46 (ESV)

“And there will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth distress of nations in perplexity because of the roaring of the sea and the waves, people fainting with fear and with foreboding of what is coming on the world. For the powers of the heavens will be shaken. And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. Now when these things begin to take place, straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.” – Luke 21:25-28 (ESV)

I often hear it stated by many that “life and society have changed for the worse”… “immorality is now more apparent”… “we never heard of such things taking place in my younger day”… “the world is no longer safe to live in – it’s dark, terrible”… “the world seems so uncertain as never before”… and so the concerns and complaints go. While there is an element of truth on the surface level, the deeper and more real issues have either not been realized or ‘swept under the carpet’.

Ever since the fall of man and sin entering the world, there has been de-evolution rather than evolution as the bible reveals. Scientists argue that man as a species is evolving into a better humanity. Scientific discovery and technology may have advanced enormously but man has not positively changed in his nature. Martyn Lloyd-Jones said “What is the use of being able to travel from London to New York in five hours, if man does not know how to live when he gets there?” We have all this great knowledge; breaking the speed of sound, defying the laws of gravity, splitting the atom, great outer space discoveries, a fast paced fast-food society in an attempt to rid humanity of all inconvenience. Oh we’ve achieved it alright, but humanity is now more self-centered, miserable, blind, behaving more like animals dominated by lustful instincts rather than being governed by the high laws of life that God originally gifted man in the first place. Humanity is plagued with sin that he cannot live in the way that God intended; man doesn’t know how to appropriate all these achievements into right living. Look at the government, look at the leaders of our country; here they are trying to ‘lead’ this nation when they cannot govern themselves. They are greedy for gain and they will take any immoral and unethical route to obtain what they desire; government and politics nowadays is nothing more than living immorally in ‘broad daylight’. Man is hungry for one thing: position for elite power and to remain there no matter how much that will unduly cost other lives. The DNA of depravity is in all of us. The problem of sin will remain no matter how many religious and sociological attempts are carried out to iron the continual besetting hindrances and moral deformities individually, nationally, and internationally.

As many of us already know, God’s word – the bible – gives the only correct diagnosis of man’s root problem: sin and separation from God, consequently tormented with a plethora of dilemmas that face us in our day and age. Not only does the bible give the diagnosis of our problem but also provides the only answer and cure for our common disease. God the Father because of His great mercy and love sent His own Son, Jesus Christ, into this fallen world to live perfectly and die in our stead; propitiating the wrath of a holy God so that we may be forgiven and reconciled to Him, for those who turn to Him and trust their lives with their Creator, and therefore empowered through the resurrection of Jesus Christ to live obediently unto Him. We have been mercifully given the cure; to refuse would be worse and as foolish as objecting a doctor’s sound advice to undergo an operation to eliminate a deadly, cancerous growth.

Outside of Christ, one is left to contend with this dark and miserable world; it has always been subject to corruption and hopelessness since man’s first disobedience to God’s laws. Peter in his second epistle, chapter 1 verse 19 states the true condition of life in this world, “And we have something more sure, the prophetic word, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place (this world), until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts…” Many Christians shouldn’t have to wake up to this truth; Christians have already been delivered from the bondage of this world; translated from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light. As Christians we ought never to look to this world for hope, never! We don’t belong to the pessimistic mentality of this world. Our citizenship is in heaven (Philippians 3:20) which Paul counters to being earthly minded; we are not to be too comfortable in this world, but as Hebrews 13:14 states, “For here we have no lasting city but we seek the city that is to come.” The kingdom that we have received is one that cannot be shaken, but the things that are temporal will be greatly shaken and many, maybe some of us in our lifetime, will witness these events.

What is our attitude as Christians to these events? With all that is taking place in our government, economy, nature in crisis; numerous earthquakes, a radical shift in weather patterns, creating all kinds of problems, and now the recent mammoth oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico where up to 70,000 barrels of oil are let loose into the ocean per day. What about the aftermaths? It’s not just one month’s worth of immediate disaster but its effect that I don’t believe hardly any governing official is facing the repercussions head-on right now. There is a great uncertainty everywhere, worldwide, not just contained in one nation. We have had our world wars but this present worldwide catastrophe is something foreign to us all. As Christians, are we alarmed and disturbed over all this? I hope many sleeping Christians have been disillusioned and shaken out of spiritual apathy as a result of what’s taking place because it’s not going to get any better. Are we prayerful in these days? At least we ought to be. Why wait to get serious when turbulent times hit? I thank God for His love and mercy in using these times to rouse us. I also thank Him that He will give us His grace in days ahead to endure and be faithful witnesses unto Him; we will know our God to be a very present help in times of trouble.

In Psalm 46, verses 2,3 and 6, we will notice the settings, “…the earth gives way… the mountains move into the heart of the sea… its waters roar and foam… the mountains tremble at its swelling… the nations rage, the kingdoms totter… the earth melts.”

This bears strong significance to the times we are in. I think we can well interpret that metaphorically it speaks of unutterable instability of rule and power within a nation, in fact the whole earth.

Luke 21:25-28 sheds more light upon the verses we are presently considering, specifically verses 25 and 26, “… and on the earth, distress of nations in perplexity because of the roaring of the sea and waves, people fainting with fear and with foreboding.”

Revelation 4:6 is another scripture that speaks figuratively of how aspects of God’s throne are described as, “A sea of glass, like crystal”, revealing a tranquility, not turmoil as in our world. Ought we, as Christians, to know this serenity – this peace and order in the midst of a chaotic and crumbling society? Surely, if we are lights in this dark world, then that’s exactly what we should display to those who are victims of this world’s hopeless system. Is fainting and fearing becoming of Christians? And if so, what is our foundation? Are our lives really being built upon a rock – the Rock of all ages?

As Christians we ought to find great encouragement as we see these catastrophic events unfolding; it gives concrete evidence that what the bible has foretold is perfectly true. Rather than be alarmed and overcome with anxiety and panic, we ought to “straighten up”, as the ESV has it and “raise our heads” for our redemption is drawing near, extremely near; look for Him confidently who will be revealed with great power and glory.

Between now and that glorious event, how are we to cope and react? These times are desperate and extremely trying, but this does not mean we are to mirror the events around us. Psalm 46 reveals confident affirmation of how we should rightly stand and act; it’s no good putting on a brave face, biting the bullet, when emotionally we are caving in. Positive thinking will not endure; our standing is on the great truth – God Himself. David in Psalm 121 says when he looks up to the hills – the hills/mountains that speak of might and power – no answer is given there but great despair. “From where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord”. David personally encountered God to be the One and only God who is a very present help in trouble.

It is recognizing who God is that instills confidence in our hearts as we see in Psalm 46:1, God who is our refuge and strength, verse 2-3, “…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 – WE WILL NOT FEAR.” Why not? Because in verse 5, “God is in our midst; we shall not be moved”; verse 7, “The Lord of host is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress”, despite “The nations raging and the kingdoms tottering”.

Such experiential knowledge will never result from fainting, panicking and worrying but out of stillness we will acquire a true knowledge of Him.

Verse 10, “Be still and know that I am God.” Cease from your unbelief, cease looking to man, cease looking to yourself; look to Him, the great I AM. Circumstances are erratic but God never changes. Being still is to recognize the omnipotence of God and that He is the ALL–powerful Sustainer in the midst of calamity; He is the calm in the storm. We may feel weak but his grace will enable us to do more than just endure but to rise up, straighten ourselves and declare that in the center of these dark times, in ALL these things we are more than conquerors through Jesus Christ who loved us. Christ dwells in our heart by the Holy Spirit; He has overcome the world and we are kept by the power of God to do likewise. Paul didn’t wait until victory took place to declare that he was more than a conqueror; in the heat of the moment, Paul confidently anticipated victory – he could see over the horizon to the war already won. We stand and we wrestle in the power of God’s might with unconquerable assurance:

God WILL be exalted among the nations
God WILL be exalted in the earth

If our lives are being built upon the Rock, then no matter what comes we shall stand knowing that our lives our perfectly safe in God’s hands who has already written the course of history, the present and the future.

Great providence of heaven
What wonders shine
In its profound display
Of God’s design:
It guards the dust of earth,
Commands the hosts above,
Fulfills the mighty plan
Of His great love

The kingdoms of this world
Lie in its hand;
See how they rise or fall
At its command!
Through sorrow and distress,
Tempestuous storms that rage,
God’s kingdom yet endures
From age to age.

Its darkness dense is but
A radiant light;
Its oft-perplexing ways
Are ordered right.
Soon all its winding paths
Will end, and then the tale
Of wonder shall be told
Beyond the veil.

(hymn by David Charles)