In the midst of life’s most chaotic and unsettling moments, when everything that once felt secure seems to be crumbling, God stands as our unshakeable refuge and strength. The psalmist reminds us that our confidence is not rooted in our own abilities or inner reserves, but in the proven faithfulness of God who has carried His people through trouble time and again. When the earth gives way and the mountains fall into the sea, we do not need to fear, because God is a very present help—He has shown up before, and He will show up again. Let your heart rest in the assurance that God’s presence is your safety, your security, and your strength, no matter how overwhelming your circumstances may be. [15:37]
Psalm 46:1-3 (ESV)
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.
Reflection: What is one specific situation in your life right now that feels like the “earth giving way”? How can you intentionally remind yourself today that God is your refuge and strength in that very place?
God reveals Himself as the Lord of hosts, the commander of heavenly and earthly armies, yet He is not distant or cold. Instead, His might and power are the very source of comfort for His people. In Psalm 46, God’s strength is not just displayed in conquest, but in His nearness to the afflicted—He is both the conqueror and the comforter. His presence brings a river of gladness and stability even when the world is in turmoil. Trust that the God who commands angel armies is also the one who draws near to comfort you in your distress, offering both protection and peace. [18:15]
Psalm 46:4-7 (ESV)
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.
Reflection: When you feel surrounded by trouble, how can you practically invite God’s comforting presence into your day, trusting both His strength and His nearness?
True comfort in affliction does not come from a soft or passive God, but from His unconquerable strength. The Lord of hosts is not only compassionate, but He is also a mighty conqueror who wages war against evil and has already won the ultimate victory over sin and death through Christ. This strength is what enables us to stand firm and unafraid, knowing that God’s power is at work on our behalf. Let your comfort today be rooted in the reality that God’s strength is for you, and that He has already defeated your greatest enemies. [27:45]
1 Corinthians 15:54-57 (ESV)
When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Reflection: In what area of your life do you need to stop relying on your own strength and instead rest in the victory and strength of God? What would it look like to lay down your “weapons” and trust Him today?
Jesus calls His people not to simply withstand the world’s pressures, but to actively advance His kingdom. The gates of hell will not prevail against the church, not because we are on the defensive, but because God leads us on the offensive—empowering us to go, make disciples, and bring light into darkness. Our mission is not to retreat or merely survive, but to step out boldly, equipped by God, to reach others with the hope and truth of Christ. As you go about your day, remember that you are sent out with the authority and presence of the Lord of hosts. [32:27]
Matthew 16:18-19 (ESV)
And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
Reflection: Where is God calling you to move from a defensive posture to an active, missional one? Who is one person you can intentionally reach out to this week with the love and truth of Christ?
To “be still and know that I am God” is not merely an invitation to personal tranquility, but a call to lay down your weapons and let God fight the battles that belong to Him. In the face of overwhelming odds, God commands His people to step back, trust His sovereignty, and watch as He is exalted among the nations. This stillness is an act of faith, surrendering control and allowing God’s command to give you courage, comfort, and confidence. Today, choose to rest in the assurance that the Lord of hosts is with you, and that His victory is certain. [35:37]
Psalm 46:10-11 (ESV)
“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.
Reflection: What is one area of your life where you are still trying to fight in your own strength? How can you practice “being still” and trusting God to be exalted in that situation today?
Psalm 46 offers a profound invitation: “Be still and know that I am God.” This is not merely a call to find a moment of peace or tranquility, but a summons to trust God’s presence and power in the midst of life’s most chaotic and unsettling circumstances. The psalm introduces us to the name “the Lord of hosts”—Jehovah Sabaoth—the commander of armies, both heavenly and earthly. This name, used over 250 times in the Old Testament, is invoked in moments of deep anguish and overwhelming odds, reminding God’s people that their security does not rest in their own strength, but in the God who commands the armies of heaven.
Throughout Scripture, the Lord of hosts appears when His people are outnumbered, outmatched, or overwhelmed. Whether it’s Hannah’s desperate prayer, David facing Goliath, or Elisha surrounded by enemy armies, the Lord of hosts is present, powerful, and victorious. This is not a distant, cold military general, but a God whose might is matched by His nearness and compassion. He is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. The psalmist’s imagery of the earth giving way and mountains falling into the sea captures those moments when everything stable in our lives seems to collapse. Yet, the assurance is not that we will find hidden reserves of strength within ourselves, but that God is a well-proven help—faithful in the past, faithful now, and faithful in the future.
The river that makes glad the city of God is a picture of God’s sustaining presence, bringing life and stability even when the world is in turmoil. God does not always remove us from trouble, but He is with us in the midst of it. The hope and confidence we have is not rooted in a mere change of perspective, but in the unbreakable reality of God’s presence. In Christ, God has waged war against sin and death, conquering our greatest enemies. The comfort we receive is not from God’s softness, but from His strength—He is both the comforter of the afflicted and the conqueror of evil.
This truth calls us to lay down our weapons, to stop fighting battles that belong to God, and to trust that He will be exalted among the nations. It also calls us to join His mission—not as passive observers, but as active participants, equipped to wage spiritual war, not against people, but against the forces of darkness. The Lord of hosts is with us, and that gives us courage, comfort, and confidence, no matter what we face.
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Psalm 46 (ESV) —
> 1 God is our refuge and strength,
> a very present help in trouble.
> 2 Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way,
> though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea,
> 3 though its waters roar and foam,
> though the mountains tremble at its swelling.
> 4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
> the holy habitation of the Most High.
> 5 God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved;
> God will help her when morning dawns.
> 6 The nations rage, the kingdoms totter;
> he utters his voice, the earth melts.
> 7 The LORD of hosts is with us;
> the God of Jacob is our fortress.
> 8 Come, behold the works of the LORD,
> how he has brought desolations on the earth.
> 9 He makes wars cease to the end of the earth;
> he breaks the bow and shatters the spear;
> he burns the chariots with fire.
> 10 “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 of hosts is with us;
> the God of Jacob is our fortress.
Yet in the midst of it despite whatever challenges and struggles and difficulties that you can conjure up as if you were to think of your life and what happens when everything that is sure for you starts to fall apart everything that brings confidence security, whatever your life is crumbling the psalm says we're not going to fear I mean that's a that's an entire perspective shift and the reason for that is not just because the psalms will say listen life's tough and when life's tough we're going to dig deep in ourselves and we're going to learn a little bit more about who we are and all the skills that we have and all we're going to unlock that deep potential within us that's not what the bible teaches here the bible says we're not going to fear but the reason we're not going to fear isn't because you you've got it in and of yourself, the reason we don't fear is because God's got it, that he is our refuge, he is our strength, and the verse says what? A very present help in trouble. [00:14:32] (66 seconds) #PresenceOverPerspective
So that when trouble hits again tomorrow, or today, or whenever that may be, we say, God is our refuge and our strength. Because I remember the last, we were here before. We've experienced this before. We've walked through days like this before. God is faithful, and we will trust in Him. So when the earth shatters, or the earth gives way, and the mountains be moved in the sea, not if, but when that happens, we can stand and not fear, because the Lord of hosts is with us. [00:17:42] (34 seconds) #MoreThanConquerorsInChrist
The reason we approach sufferings these ways is not perspective, but the presence, the presence of God, he is with us. The psalmist in Psalm 46 does not declare, and I'll see you later. In the midst of the world falling apart, we're not going to fear because we just know God works all things out together for good. Does he? Yes. But he says we're not going to fear because the Lord of hosts is with us. He's with us in the suffering. He's with us in the trial. He's with us in the trouble. And if God is with us, then who can be against us? [00:20:55] (36 seconds) #GodsOffensiveVictory
That is a very hope -filled passage. But it is a hope -filled passage not because we have just bought into some grander perspective. That is a hope -filled passage because God has redeemed us from our sin. He has saved us so that we are more than conquerors. in Christ, nothing's going to separate us from Him. It doesn't matter what type of calamity or trouble will befall your life today or tomorrow or the next day or any day after that because God is with you. And when God is with us, bring it. [00:22:36] (45 seconds) #MissionBeyondTheWalls
But if God saw fit to bring that into my life today, I pray that I could stand exactly with the psalmist and say, but I'm not going to fear because the Lord of hosts is with me. And I know that because of what Christ did nothing can separate me from Him. No trouble, no difficulty. I am secure in the Lord. [00:23:37] (19 seconds) #BattleBelongsToGod
It's not the softness of God that brings us into this new covenant of redemption in Christ. It's the strength of God that says, I'm going to go and I'm going to conquer my adversaries, the chief among all being death itself. So Christ goes to the cross, not just to make some soft and sappy appeal to people today, if you just believe in the cross. No, we're going to believe in the God who waged war on sin. He went to war against death and he won. He defeated it once and for all. [00:26:50] (30 seconds)
To kind of sum this whole thing up, if you want to walk out, and sometimes this helps me to grasp a concept. What Psalm 46 is doing for us, to invite us into this be still and know that I am God, what God is doing there effectively, guys, is he is saying, lay down your weapons. You're out here fighting this battle that is mine. It's David walking out in front of Goliath, not because he's got the best equipment, but because the battle is the Lord's. So be still and know that I am God is not just an invitation to some tranquil little moment of peace. Peace. To be still and know that I am God is God saying, step back. Let me show you what I'm up to. [00:34:51] (50 seconds)
And God says, I will be exalted among the nations. I will be exalted in the earth. That is God saying, I am God. Not Goliath, not the Baals, not the Asherah, not anything else. I alone am God, step back and I will show myself. So we get to engage in a battle with that God. Not a wishful thinking, hopeful promise, crossing our fingers kind of God. But a God who says, the victory is mine. The Lord of hosts is with us. [00:35:41] (42 seconds)
``Courage to step into another day even when the ground beneath you shakes. Courage to get up and face tomorrow because the Lord of hosts commands the armies of heaven and earth. Comfort in the midst of the storm, knowing that his unshakable presence is your refuge, is your strength, and your very present help in time of trouble. And confidence knowing that God's supreme power will bring an end to every battle. Not just theoretically, but... But one day, finally, to everything, as he comes back. And we long for that return, and we have confidence in it. So that no matter what today holds, no matter what tomorrow holds, we will not fear if the Lord of hosts is with us. [00:36:58] (50 seconds)
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