Episode 171

TODAY’S READING:

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 the 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.

Psalm 46:1-7

 

An ever-present help in trouble. So powerful! So beautiful, really, when you think about it. This passage deserves to be printed and hung on your wall somewhere where you can see it daily.

 

He is ever-present. The world can crumble, your world can crumble, but God will be there. This is a beautiful illustration of how life can be at times. We can be on top of it all one second, and unfortunately, our mountain top moments can fall into the heart of a sea at any moment.

 

I want us all to hold onto verse 5 today. God is within her; she will not fall. God will help her at the break of day.

 

Don’t ever forget that in your highest of highs and your lowest of lows, God is within you. He is ever-present. Every day we change, every day we are different because every day we learn new things. Our realities continue to shape according to what we experience.

 

We must never forget where we came from so that we never forget who brought us through those moments.

 

Ever-present means He has always been there for you, and He will never leave you. It’s hard to see it in seasons of anger, frustration, or in seasons of unknown territory. When bad things happen, we question Him, why me, God? Why did this have to happen to me? But I encourage you to ask the right questions, and I promise you will feel him with you. The next time you want to ask why God, I encourage you to say, “Father, I know you are here. I know you are experiencing this with me; give me the strength and the faith. I do not know why these things are happening, but I do know I need your strength right now.”

 

That simple prayer will change your perspective, and you will feel exactly as this writer did when writing these scriptures. Therefore we will not fear, though the world – your world – may fall apart, the Lord Almighty is with us.

 

PRAYER

Father God, thank you for blessing us with another week. Thank you for giving us this time to bask in your ever-present presence. We are excited about the start of a new week. New opportunities, new possibilities. We ask that you open doors for us; we ask that we feel your presence everywhere we go. When our world is falling apart, we want to lean in closer to you. It brings us comfort to know that you are there with us. We thank you for that. It is in your Holy name that we pray, Amen!