God is My Refuge and Strength - Reflections on Psalm 46

God is My Refuge and Strength – Reflections on Psalm 46

The forty-sixth psalm opens with this memorable verse.  “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in the time of trouble.” (NIV) Another translation reads, “God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble.”  This verse declares the necessity of looking to Almighty God as the source of our strength and comfort in the midst of our daily challenges.

The cumulative effects of daily struggles often overwhelm us.  We fear our circumstances will defeat us.  Though we have tried repeatedly to resolve our daily situations to the very best of our abilities, we fall short.  Our emotional, spiritual and willingness resources are empty.  We conclude that we failed to conquer enemies, internally and externally.  Understandably, we surrender.

At this point, we are most ably poised to receive Almighty God’s grace, comfort and mercy.  When we exhaust our reserves, we look to Him.  When abandon “Plan B” in its multiple forms, we are able to humble ourselves before the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth and the Maker of heaven.  Humility is a nonnegotiable prerequisite for personal development and spiritual growth as we genuinely rely upon Almighty God.

It is very difficult to appeal for God’s guidance when we are self-reliant.  Fallaciously, we thinking we possess internally an infinite intellectual and emotional reserve that empowers us to be victorious in all challenges.  The psalmist relegates such thinking to be a fantasy.  Self-sufficiency ultimately yields a clear delineation of our limitations.  In the words of Pauline irony, in contrast, when we are strong in ourselves, then we are weak spiritually.  When we willingly acknowledge our personal weaknesses, we can best receive God’s power and strength.  (2 Corinthians 12:1-10)

Consider the story behind this great psalm.  David faces many dangers and enemies as he lives to honor and glorify Almighty God.  As a shepherd, he wrestles with wild animals that sought to harm his flocks.  David fights off the bear and the lion.  Possibly, he also fought a wolf or two.  Admitted to the court of King Saul, David struggles to stay alive in the midst of Saul’s murderous jealousy.  God’s chosen heir to the throne of Israel, David becomes the direct object of Saul’s ire.  On several occasions, David evades Saul’s attempts to kill him.  In fact, David foregoes opportunities to kill Saul in justifiable self-defense.  Out of respect for God’s Anointed One, David refuses this legally permissible and perfectly reasonable option.  He takes refuge in Almighty God. 

Additionally, we recall David’s great confrontation with Goliath, the Philistine giant.  To defeat Goliath, David does not fight in David’s own strength.  Rather, he combats the giant in the Name of the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel.  David’s sincere reliance upon Almighty God in turn empowers David to destroy Goliath. 

David finds protection and wisdom in the Lord.  One suspects David draws upon the fountain of God’s guidance in prayer and meditation.  David realizes God as the source of his help.  He grasps the necessity of taking cover under God’s protective and comforting presence.  Moreover, David acknowledges that God is “a very present help in the time of trouble.”  God is always there to assist David as he combats his various enemies.  God’s presence supplies David with safe haven and unlimited power for the daily battles of life.

David’s enemies are internal as well as external.  He participates in a very morally and ethically questionable situation.  His lust and other character defects get the very best of him.  He has an affair with Bathsheba.  She becomes pregnant.  David conspires to hide his actions by bringing Uriah, Bathsheba’s husband, home on furlough from an intense battle.  When Uriah fails to lay with Bathsheba and cover David’s dastardly deeds, David then extends his conspiracy to the point of murder.  Eventually, the prophet, Nathan, appears and confronts David about the internal enemies of lying, cheating, and murder.

To defeat his personal enemies, Goliath and beasts in the wild, David takes refuge in Almighty God.  David recalls the Lord who graciously gives him victory over his external foes will also assist him to conquer his internal adversaries.  David prays wholeheartedly for the life of the baby whom Bathsheba bears and the Lord strikes.  Visiting His sovereign judgment upon David for David’s transgressions, the Lord allows the baby to die.  Rather than becoming bitter, David remembers Almighty God as a “refuge and strength, a very present help in the time of trouble.”  David’s meditations upon the Lord’s enduring goodness, infinite love and everlasting mercy motivates his composition of Psalm 51 in which he repents of his sin.  There, David asks for restoration to the joy of salvation.  Under the shelter of God’s presence, David finds the strength and wisdom to persevere.  He obtains guidance and maturity to become a great and inimitable king.