Songs of Summer 6 – Be Still!

I'll be doing whatever snow does in summer. Bees will buzz, kids will blow dandelion fuzz.

We're constantly tempted to be afraid, to be tossed to and fro by all the crazy things going on in the world. How do we maintain peace in the midst of that storm? Open with us to Psalm 46 and let's find out how.

Although it is promoted and practiced by many different religious faiths, one of the most difficult religious exercises for many American Christians, including myself, is not sacrifice or giving. It's not prayer or some form of devotion. It's silence, stillness, and solitude. I don't know about you, but I have a hard time with silence and stillness. Solitude, I'm okay with that. I could be alone, but silence and stillness? I'm what you might refer to as a bouncer.

No, I'm not talking about the kind of bouncer that is in front of a club, stopping people from going into the club. I'm one of those bouncers that, when I'm sitting down, I can't help but fidget all the time. Has anybody else experienced that? When I was a kid, my lovely mom would put her hand on my leg and say, "Stop." Then the other leg would start moving. It's not my leg; it's my foot. I just can't sit still, which is why I don't just stand behind this thing over here all the time. I have to be moving around. It drives our video guys nuts. In fact, right now they're freaking out because I'm moving around a little bit too much for them. Sorry, Brett.

That stillness and silence—I have to have it if I'm studying or reading. I know for a lot of people, that can't be easy.

I have music going because I need something to occupy my mind; otherwise, I get distracted by silence. I have a difficult time with the whole area of stillness and silence, even though it is esteemed in Christianity. Stillness and silence are often lifted up. It has come back as a trend, which is interesting because it started about the 1950s, died out for a while, and has now returned.

You can go into a tank filled with about ten inches of super salt water, and it is pitch black. You enter this tank with earplugs in, lay down, and float. It’s a sensory deprivation experience. For most people, especially those with any phobia, that sounds like a nightmare. However, if it sounds appealing to you, I'm sure you can find a deal on Groupon and go float in the darkness and be still. For many Americans, though, that is a fad they are not interested in.

Even among Christians who appreciate stillness, solitude, and silence, many refer to a specific passage of Scripture that we are discussing today—this Psalm. There is a verse near the end of Psalm 46 that addresses this concept, and many people point to it as an important component of faith.

So, would you open your Bibles to Psalm 46? If you don’t have a Bible, you can raise your hand, and one of our ushers will bring you one. In our series on the Psalms, we are looking at about ten of the most significant Psalms. So far, most of these have been written by a king over the nation of Israel named David, who lived about 3,000 years ago. However, this one is different.

Psalm 46 begins with a heading before verse one: "To the chief musician, a psalm of the sons of Korah, a song for Alamoth." The Psalmist writes, "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, even though the earth be removed and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea, though the waters roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with its swelling." Selah.

There is a river whose streams shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacle of the Most High. God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved. God shall help her just at the break of dawn. The nations raged; the kingdoms were moved. He uttered His voice, and the earth melted. The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.

Come, behold the works of the Lord, who has made desolations in the earth, who makes wars to cease to the end of the earth. He breaks the bow and cuts the spear in two; He burns the chariot in 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 refuge. Selah.

Lord, as we open this psalm and consider Your word today, I pray that You would give us insight and instruction by Your Spirit and through Your word, that we might know how to walk with You in a way that is more honoring and glorifying to You. Lord, work in us as we open Your word and think through it. Give us application, we pray. We ask this in Jesus' name, and all those that agreed said, Amen. You can be seated.

A psalm of the sons of Korah. It immediately causes us to ask the question: Who are the sons of Korah? Who is this little singing crew that likes to write songs? If you've been around the Bible for any length of time and have read through the Old Testament, at least the first five books, then you've probably come across a reference to the sons of Korah before. But if you haven't, that's okay. They are kind of a little-known group of guys among the nation of Israel.

The sons of Korah were the sons of ultimately a guy by the name of Levi. Again, these names may mean very little to you, but in the book of Genesis, the very first book of the Bible, God called a man by the name of Abraham to follow Him. God promised this man, Abraham, that He was going to do great things through his life and through his family. Abraham had a son named Isaac, and Isaac had a son named Jacob, and God changed Jacob's name.

God changed Jacob's name to Israel. Israel had twelve sons who became the twelve tribes of Israel. One of those tribes was called Levi. Through a turn of events recorded for us in the Book of Exodus, the tribe of Levi became the priestly tribe of the nation of Israel. They were the brothers given the task of serving the Lord and performing religious duties and priestly actions.

Levi had a son named Kohath, and Kohath had a son named Izhar, who in turn had a son named Korah. We read of the sons of Korah in the tribe of Levi. Unfortunately, the sons of Korah became notable for a tragic event that took place in the Book of Numbers, specifically in Numbers chapter 16. At a certain point, the sons of Korah decided they did not care for the leadership of their leader, a man named Moses. They started what can only be described as a mutiny, a rebellion. In rebelling against the leadership of Moses, they were actually rebelling against the leadership of God, who had placed Moses in that position.

As you near the end of Numbers chapter 16, you see that God dealt with the rebellion in a very swift and dramatic way. The Bible describes in Numbers chapter 16, around verse 30, that the ground opened up and swallowed the sons of Korah, along with the 250 men who were following them in the rebellion. Thankfully, this little blip in their history was not completely forgotten, but it was overlooked as time went by.

When you come to the Book of Second Chronicles in the Old Testament, you find that this group, the sons of Korah, hundreds of years later, became associated with praise and worship in the temple. The idea of a worship leader rebellion is not new in history; it goes all the way back to Numbers chapter 16. After that event, the sons of Korah came to be known as worship leaders among the nation of Israel. They wrote Psalms, not just Psalm 46, but also Psalm 42 and others. These are songs penned by the sons of Korah. In the headings, we read that these Psalms were written by the sons of Korah, a song for Alamoth.

Now, what in the world is Alamoth? There is a fair amount of discussion and a little bit of disagreement among commentators about what Alamoth is. Is it like the sons of Korah are writing for their girlfriend, Alamoth? No. It is believed that, because of what this word means, it seems to speak of something that is high-pitched.

One of the commentator views is that this was a Psalm written to be sung by a certain choir of sopranos. So, this is a song written for the sopranos, if you will—not the HBO Sopranos. However, Charles Spurgeon and other commentators believe that this wasn't written for a choir singing in a high-pitched soprano tone, but rather for a specific instrument that played a high-pitched sound. Therefore, Alamoth could mean an instrument.

Really, at the end of the day, it doesn't matter; that's just the heading. Let's look at the meat of the text. It says, "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble." Now, I think it's important to note, as we look at those words opening the Psalm, that God does not merely create or make a place of shelter, but He is a place of refuge—a place of protection from the storm.

These worshipers who wrote this song know that God is not just a shelter, although that is true. He is a shelter, a protection, a refuge among other things that people might run to for shelter or protection. They also do not write, "God is the shelter." Although that again is true among all the things that you, I, or the world could run to for shelter, God is, I believe, the best one to run to.

Notice they say, "God is our refuge and our strength. He is our very present help in time of trouble." He is our refuge among all the things that you could find refuge, protection, or shelter in this world. He is the best one, and therefore He should be your refuge.

In Second Samuel, chapter 22, verse 31, we read, "This God, His way is perfect. The word of the Lord proves true. He is a shield for all those who take refuge in Him."

This God is a shield for all those who take refuge in Him. Of course, it implies that there are other shields to which people take refuge, but He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him.

Point number one on your outline, your sermon guide, is there in your bulletin: you must choose to take refuge in the Lord. Among all the things that are available to find shelter and refuge in the storm, I am not talking about physical storms with thunder, lightning, and rain. We are talking about the storms of life, the storms that every single one of us goes through and experiences. There are all kinds of different things that you can turn to in the midst of the storms of this life for shelter and protection. Here, the Psalmist says the Lord is our refuge in the midst of that storm, the one that we turn to.

Not only is He our refuge, but He also says He is our strength. The same thing that I have said about refuge could be said about strength. He is a strength; He could even be made the strength. From the Scriptures, we could prove that He is the one we turn to for strength, but what we see is that He needs to be our strength.

So the question comes to me, and it comes to us: where do you turn to find strength? What do you turn to for strengthening and refreshing in this world? When the storms of life come to you, where is your source of strength? We all know the things that could sap our strength, but where do we turn for strength?

You might say, "Well, if I could just get away from this hectic job, then I could be strengthened." You might say, "If I could just get away from this dirty house, I could find some strength." If I could just get away from these whiny children, I could find some strength. If I could just get away from this smelly spouse or this nagging wife, I could find some strength. If I just had more money, if I just had more time, if I just had less responsibility, if I just had less stress, I could find strength.

There are all kinds of things that sap our strength, our vitality—emotionally, spiritually, and physically—on a daily basis. We know what those things are, and even if you could get rid of one of those things, there is something else waiting in the wings immediately to follow. I hate to break it to you, but that's life. There are always ways that things come and sap our strength.

The question is, where do you find strength in the midst of the troublesome, tiresome, and distressing things of this life? In the Old Testament, in the book of 1 Samuel, there's a story about a man named David. He had been anointed the king of Israel, but when he was anointed, there was already another king on the throne. This situation could lead to problems.

As time went on, King Saul, who was on the throne, did not like the fact that there was another man anointed as king. Consequently, Saul began to pursue David and hunt him in the wilderness to try to kill him. That could certainly be distressing. While David was running from King Saul, who was failing at his responsibilities as king, the enemies of the nation of Israel were coming against them. However, Saul was too busy pursuing David to deal with the Philistines and other enemies threatening the nation.

David, who was on the run from King Saul, realized that not only did he have to escape from Saul, but he also had to defeat these enemies. He had a band of mighty men around him, and as he was being pursued, he was also protecting the nation with their help. Unfortunately, at a certain point, as described in 1 Samuel, while they were out defending against one enemy, another enemy came into their camp, destroyed it, and took all their women and children away as captives.

When David and his mighty men returned from battle, they found their camp destroyed and their wives and children taken. In this moment of despair, his mighty men turned on him. We read in 1 Samuel 30, verse six, that David was greatly distressed. This is an understatement. Saul was trying to kill him, he was defending the nation from enemies, and now his own men were grieving for their lost families. The text states that the people spoke of stoning him because the soul of the people was grieved, every man for his sons and daughters.

What do you do in the midst of that? Well, 1 Samuel 30, verse six, does not end there. It says, "But David strengthened himself in the Lord his God." David found his strength in the Lord.

He was in the midst of an incredibly stressful, distressing situation, and he strengthened himself in the Lord his God. Notice that it does not say that he strengthened himself merely in the Lord God, but in the Lord his God.

Point number two on your outline: The Lord must be your God for you to experience His strength. It is certain that God is powerful, mighty, and strong. We call Him the Almighty God. However, you will only experience His strengthening if He is the Lord your God. David, in the midst of distressing, hard situations—when those closest to him were taken, and when those around him wanted to turn on him—strengthened himself in the Lord his God. The Lord must be your God for you to experience His strength.

This is not just a truth in the Old Testament. In the New Testament of the Bible, we find this truth as well. There is an author in the New Testament called Paul, the Apostle Paul. Many of you have heard that name before. In one of his letters, 2 Corinthians, Paul describes going through distressing situations to the point that he was hard-pressed on every side, beaten down under a burden, so that he despaired even of life. He just wanted to throw in the towel and give up.

In the midst of this, he came to an important conclusion that I believe the Lord wants to bring us to. It is recorded for us in 2 Corinthians 3, verse 5. He says, "Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think anything as being of ourselves." We all need to come to the place where we recognize the poverty of spirit, the poverty of strength that we have. Jesus said in Matthew chapter 5, "Blessed are the poor in spirit." Those who come to that place realize that they are not sufficient in and of themselves to think anything as being of themselves. They cannot handle this on their own.

But Paul didn't end there. In 2 Corinthians 3, verse 5, it continues, "Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think anything as being of ourselves, but our sufficiency is of God." As that letter continues, you get to 2 Corinthians chapter 12, where Paul mentions that he had this great distressing burden upon him. We don't exactly know what it was, but he says, "Three times I went to the Lord and said..."

God, take it away. Take it away, please. And God said, no. Maybe you're in that place where it feels like everything is closing in. You've prayed, "God, take it away. Take it away." You've pleaded with Him, but God said to you, no. Then He said this in 2 Corinthians 12, verse 9: "Paul, my grace is sufficient for you." He didn't take the trouble away; He just said, "My grace is sufficient for you, and my strength is made perfect in your weakness."

You see, I believe that God needs me. He needs you. He needs us to come to the place of right recognition that we, in and of ourselves, can do nothing, but we can do all things through Him who gives us strength. If you're in a situation right now where everything seems to be closing in and you're praying, "God, take it away," and it's not going away, and you feel like you're going to collapse, collapse into the arms of Jesus. As He tells us in Matthew chapter 11, "Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."

God is our refuge. He is our strength. We are told that He is a very present help, a very present help. When God alone is your protecting shelter and your strength, He is also your very present help. He's not distant, as we are tempted to think when we're going through a situation. In difficulty, we think He is far away, as if you're out there on one of those long, sparse roads traveling through New Mexico or Arizona. Have you ever been on one of those roads? You're going, and it's hot—like it's been here, but even hotter. Then your car overheats or you get a flat tire, and you think, "What am I going to do?" You call AAA, and they say, "Well, we're about six months from getting to you; we're sorry." It feels like that—there's no help; it's far away.

Doesn't it seem sometimes that when you don't really need help, there's ample help? It's like there you are trying to lift something, and someone comes over and says, "Hey, can I help you with that?" You respond, "No, no, no, I got it. It's okay." They insist, "No, really, let me help you." And you say, "No, I'm okay."

I got it. No, let me help you. No, I'm fine. I seem to experience this at Home Depot constantly. Now, no offense to any employees of Home Depot here, but I go in there and I know exactly what I want, exactly where it is, and what I need. I go right there, and there are like 50 people in orange aprons asking, "Can I help you?" No, I'm good. I got this.

But then, when I go in there and I have no clue what I need or where it is, or even what it is, I'm looking around for the orange apron. I can't find the orange. I'm on a vacation of orange aprons. Where are they? Is anybody else with me on that? It seems that sometimes, when I really need help, it's not there.

But we're told here that God is our refuge and our strength, a very present help. Not when we don't need it, but in trouble. A very present help in trouble. When we need Him, right at the right time, in the right way. This truth and this promise are only for those who have chosen to take refuge in the Lord.

If you do, notice what the psalmist says. Therefore, in verse two, pointing back to the fact that He is our refuge, our strength, and a very present help in trouble, we will not fear. Notice the certainty with which he says, "We will not fear." It's not a maybe, but an absolute expectation.

The fear that he reflects upon, whoever this writer is from the Sons of Korah, is not some casual concern over an unexpected bill. It's not a momentary, fleeting concern or alarm that comes from a sudden noise. It's not even the real panic that comes when you've just missed an accident or have gotten into one. It is a real cataclysmic and severe trial.

Notice what he says next. In verse two, even though the earth be removed and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea, though the waters roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof, Selah. A few weeks ago, I described this word Selah as a meditative pause.

What I think it really means is to consider this: The Lord is our refuge and our strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore, we will not fear even if, and here the psalmist envisions, he pictures this cataclysm. He is seeing the trailer of Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson's movie, San Andreas. That's what he's envisioning—the earth being removed and cast into the sea.

How long have we been told that California is going to fall into the Pacific? You watch it and think, "Oh my gosh, what is that?" In fact, I was thinking about this the other day. I watched the trailer again. I didn't go see the movie because I thought, "Okay, all right." But I watched the trailer. Twice in 120 seconds, they acknowledge God. The Rock is watching all this happen, and he says, "Oh my God," with great acting—like Academy Award-winning acting; it's awesome.

Then there's a guy talking to the nation on the news, and he says, "This is going to disrupt everything. And if you can't get out, God be with you." You're right. Yes, that's exactly my thinking too. This is the disaster that the psalmist sees. I mean, look, that's exactly what it is. He's writing the play-by-play of San Andreas, even though the earth be removed and the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea, and the waters be troubled with tsunamis and all this sort of stuff, and the shaking thereof.

Think about it. If God is your refuge and strength, your present help in time of trouble, you don't have to fear even that cataclysm. Now, it's hard for us because, frankly, 99% of the people that went out of that movie are thinking, "I need to get some Red Cross supplies and training, and I need to have a little kit for myself." Because if it falls into the ocean, what do I need a kit and three days of water for if I fall into the ocean?

That thing you worry about constantly, that thing you fear—even though it will probably never happen—I mean, Will Smith will come and save you from aliens, and The Rock will come and save you from the big one before that thing you fear ever even comes close to happening.

But that thing that you fear, you don't have to fear if God is your refuge and your strength. According to most studies on fears, do you know what the number one fear that people in America have is? It's not death; it's public speaking. Death is number two. I'm here to tell you, public speaking is not all that bad, although it's fine that you fear it because I don't need the competition.

That means if you go to a funeral, you're better off in the casket than doing the eulogy. However, as time goes on in people's lives, death becomes the primary fear, the primary thing that people are afraid of. Yet, we find in the New Testament, in the book of Hebrews, that Jesus, God, came to earth to die on the cross to defeat the one who has the power of death. He came to release us who have been under the bondage of the fear of death.

How do I know that? Hebrews chapter 2, verse 14 says, "Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He, Jesus, Himself likewise shared in the same." He put on flesh and blood so that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and release those who through the fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.

Point number three on your outline: In Christ, there is no fear, even of death. Now, in thinking about that, you have to ask the question, how is that possible? Look at what the psalmist says in the next verses. Psalm 46, verse 4 states, "There is a river whose streams shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacle of the Most High. God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved. God shall help her just at the break of dawn."

The psalmist, whoever this person is, turns from envisioning cataclysm and natural disaster.

Beyond our wildest dreams, until Hollywood came around, he turns from envisioning the seas being disrupted and the mountains shaking and falling into the seas. Now, he pictures this still flowing river and the streams that make glad and bring joy to this city of God. This is His holy place, His tabernacle. He is in the midst of this city, and He is going to protect, provide, and shelter it.

He moves from cataclysm to stillness, calm, and peace—the city of God. Most commentators, if you ever read their commentary on this passage, will say that city is Jerusalem. I have a real problem with that for a number of reasons. Yes, Jerusalem was the home of the temple, the holy place, but it was for a relatively short time in history. Here, the psalmist pictures a river flowing and bringing water to this city of God. Well, if you've been to Jerusalem, there's no river. In fact, the nearest river is 20 miles away.

It's kind of an oddity in ancient history because most cities were established by great rivers. This one has its nearest river 20 miles away and 4,000 feet lower in elevation. There is no river. But the biggest issue is that here he talks about a city that will never be moved, that will be sure and steadfast. Jerusalem, in history, has been sacked, destroyed, rebuilt, and sacked again more than 27 times. If that is your peace and safety, you've got issues. If that's the contrast to cataclysm, there's a real problem.

So, what is the city of God? I suggest to you that the city of God is the heavenly city, the kingdom of God, where He is, where He dwells. That's what the psalmist sees. He sees natural disaster and disruption that would cause fear in the strongest of former WWF wrestlers, and they are just torn up by this. Then he goes on to say, but there is this city of God, and it's real. It's tangible; it's not an illusion or a figment of the imagination. It is real.

The city of God is where God is, and there is peace and joy. He protects His city, and that's where His mind goes. God shall help that city just at the break of dawn. The New Living Translation says, from the very break of day, God will protect that city.

Because God dwells there, He is not far off. That is His city. He doesn't have to call to His army to amass His force for protection; He is there. He protects the city day by day.

We have this contrast: the kingdom of God, the heavenly city, the New Jerusalem, and the natural disasters of the world. Point number four on your outline is that the Christians' hope and home are not in this world. You should put a star next to that and an exclamation point. Our hope, if you're a Christian today, is that your eternal home is not here. If your hope and your eternal home are here, you have serious problems, because everything in this world will shake, totter, and fall.

If your trust, strength, and protection are in the things of this world, then when those things shake and totter, you will shake and quake too, and you will fall. If your refuge in the storm is in anything of this world—your stock market account, your 401(k), which is highly unlikely since 2008, or if it's in your job, your education, your family, politics, or whatever it may be—if your hope is in that, those things will shake, and you will shake too.

But here, the psalmist says, no, there is a city, and God is there. He is in the midst of it, and He protects it. That is my hope; that is my home. In the New Testament, in the book of Hebrews, God speaks about this. It's in Hebrews chapter 11. I can't go there because I don't have enough time right now, so note it down: Hebrews 11, verse 10, and then verses 13 through 16.

There, God, through the author of the book of Hebrews, speaks about Abraham from Genesis again. He says that this Abraham followed God by faith because he looked for a city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God. He was not looking for an earthly city. Because he was looking for a heavenly city, whose builder and maker is God, when things didn't go as he thought they would in following God, he did not turn back and run away.

How many of you here today began following the Lord, and the expectations you had in following Him did not come out the way you thought they would? If you were looking for an earthly city, an earthly dwelling place, you would have cause to return. But he looked for a city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God. The conclusion in verse 16 is that this is why God is not ashamed to be called his God.

The psalmist now moves from the city of God to the nations.

He talked about natural disasters in the previous section. Now he moves to the nations in verse 6. The nations raged; the kingdoms were moved. The nations raged, and the kingdoms were moved from nature to nations. This world is in constant chaos. This is exactly what Jesus said in what's called the Olivet Discourse, Matthew chapter 24 in the New Testament. He says, "Listen, this is what you're going to see. Nation will rise against nation, kingdom against kingdom. There will be wars and rumors of wars. These are the beginning of sorrows, but the end is not yet." This is the world we live in: natural cataclysmic disaster, national upheaval, nation against nation, wars and rumors of wars.

But in the midst of this, there is a river. The streams thereof shall make glad the city of God. God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved. With the moving of nature and the moving of the nations, He is sure and steadfast. And that's my hope. That's my home. If you're a Christian today, your refuge, your strength is the Lord. That's your hope—not Washington, not Wall Street. None of these things of this earth. The nations raged; the kingdoms were moved.

Now notice this: He uttered His voice, and the earth melted. What is that? It is a prophetic picture of something we believe has not yet happened. Peter talks about it in the New Testament as well. He says in 2 Peter 3, verse 10, "The day of the Lord will come." When the day of the Lord comes, the heavens will pass away with a great noise. The elements will melt with fervent heat. The earth and the works thereof will be burned up, looking for that great day, the coming day of the Lord, because there in which the heavens will be dissolved and the elements will melt with fervent heat.

Nevertheless, in 2 Peter 3, verse 13, we, according to His promise, look for a new heaven and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. So here the psalmist says the nations are raging, and nature is just in upheaval. There is coming a day when God from heaven will say, "Stop!" and everything will dissolve. And we have been praying for centuries—20 centuries—"Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven."

He will establish His kingdom with humanity. And then what? Notice what the psalmist says: "The Lord of hosts is with us. The God of Jacob is our refuge." Think about it. He is not moved by the shaking of Wall Street or the Chinese markets. He is not moved by ISIS or Iran. He is not moved by the White House, Washington, or Congress. He is not moved by the Supreme Court, either. He is not moved by it. Nor is He taken by surprise, as if He is up in heaven saying, "I just didn't see that coming. Peter, work something else out. I don't know what we are going to do." He is not moved by it.

The Lord of hosts is with us as long as the God of Jacob is our refuge. Think about it. He continues, "Come, behold the works of the Lord. Consider what He has done." Who has made desolations in the earth? Who has done this desolation of the earth? He makes wars to cease to the end of the earth. He breaks the bow, that is, the bow for war. He cuts the spear in two. He burns the chariot with fire. He destroys weapons of war. He destroys the elements of war, the instruments of war. He destroys it all.

When will this come to pass? He will bring righteousness and peace and destroy all this. It is prophesied in Jeremiah. It is prophesied in Isaiah. It is prophesied in Micah chapter 2 that they are going to beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. This is a great time of peace when He utters His voice from heaven, and there is melting.

Then, verse 10 states, "Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted above the nations. I will be exalted in the earth." Most Christians see this verse as a call to them to calm down and be still, and that is all fine and good. I think there is some application from that, but that is not the interpretation here. The voice of God is God from heaven speaking to the nature and the nations that rage, and He says, "Be still." It is a command. It is a stop. And it is gone.

And there is coming a day, prophetically, when God will utter from heaven, "Stop." A second time, the psalmist says these words: "The Lord of hosts is with us. The God of Jacob is our refuge."

Think about it. Point number five in your outline: Don't be shaken by the stirring of the world. God is on the throne. If your heart is quaking today because of natural disasters, calamities, or national upheavals, it is an indication that there is an idol wanting to take the throne of your heart. Hear this: If your heart is burdened and quaking because of natural disaster or national upheaval, it's an indication that an idol is vying for the throne of your heart, and that idol needs to be cast down.

If there are people, news anchors, or AM talk show hosts speaking fear into your life, you need to cut that off. I know I'm going to get letters, and someone is going to be upset because I said it, but if Rush Limbaugh is your prophet, you have issues. The same goes for Sean Hannity or NPR. I don't care what spectrum you're on. If MSNBC is your thing, or Fox News, or CNN, or BBC, or whatever it may be, if that is speaking quaking and fear into your life and not just informing you about what's going on in the world, then it should be cut off.

I did a little test myself; I cut it off a long time ago. You know what? I got so much happier. People say, "Well, you just don't know what's going on." No, I know plenty that's going on. The devil is still wicked, the world is still falling, and Jesus is coming back. I'm good with that, and I have work to do until He comes. Amen?

If you're quaking because of the things that are going on, there's an idol vying for the throne of your heart. It's not God, because He has not given us a spirit of fear but of power and of love.

And of a sound mind. Don't be shaken by the stirring of the world. God is on the throne. Amen?

Let's stand and pray. Father, I know I need that word today. I feel like there have been waves of things coming the last weeks, months even, of just things that come into my life trying to get my eyes off of You, the city of God, and to be fearful and to be in turmoil. Yet, Jesus, You said, "Let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in Me. In My Father's house are many mansions. Were it not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also."

God, help me to keep that in my mind constantly and to keep You on the throne of my life because You are the protector, the refuge, the strength, the very present help in trouble. God, thank You for Your help. Help me to trust You this week. Praise You and thank You, and Jesus, and all those who please Him.

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