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10th July 2024
WednesdayReflection
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Dr. Steven J. Lawson
'OnePassion Ministries'
'All-Powerful
and All-Present'
(Psalm 46:1)
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If you are a student of church history, you know the significance of Psalm 46 and the important role it played in the Reformation - arguably the greatest movement in the church since the first century.
The primary leader of this Protestant movement was the German reformer Martin Luther.
It was 1527, and the bubonic plague was sweeping through Europe.
This vicious epidemic brutally struck the country of Germany.
A large number of deaths occurred because of the plague.
People were living in fear.
Many were escaping town in search of safety.
The issue for Luther was: should he flee for the health of his family and his own preservation?
Or should he stay and minister to those who remained and expose himself to the deadly disease?
Luther made the difficult decision to stay in order to shepherd the German people.
With his wife Katy, Luther turned their house into a hospital for the dying.
Tragically, their young three-year-old son Hans contracted the disease and nearly died.
During this season, Luther became so overwhelmed mentally and emotionally that he fainted at the dinner table more than once and had to be carried to his bed.
It was in the middle of this grim situation that Luther anchored himself to Psalm 46.
In a time of weakness and pestilence, Luther wrote "A Mighty Fortress is our God" as a testimony to the strength he found in the Lord Himself.
One of the verses of this famous hymn reads,
"A mighty fortress is our God, a bulwark never failing
Our helper, He amid the flood of mortal ills prevailing."
It was Psalm 46 that gave Luther the inner strength he needed during this devastating plague.
As this rich psalm begins, it is a declaration that God is all-powerful.
He is far greater than any trial or foe that His people or the psalmist would face.
Notice the verb "is" - "God is our refuge and strength."
The word "refuge" here speaks to 'a place of safety and security.'
When the psalmist runs to Him and hides himself in Him, it is like a soldier running into a castle.
All that would assail him - surrounding enemies and dreaded fears - cannot harm him while he is surrounded by its sturdy and impenetrable walls.
So it is for every believer today.
We find comfort and strength for our own hearts as we rest in God, who is our refuge.
Nothing can touch us except that which He sends, or what He allows.
This does not mean no difficulties will come to us.
As the first line continues, the psalmist adds that "God is...our strength."
God enables His people to stand strong through the many trials that come against them through His supernatural strength.
As the psalmist writes this, the city of Jerusalem is surrounded by enemy forces, undergoing a siege.
There was a very-present threat --
foreign armies that threatened Israel's very existence.
God was ultimately the walled fortress around the psalmist, protecting, preserving, and empowering him.
The same is true in our lives.
It is in times of our weakness when we should turn to Him with the greatest trust.
In the second line of this verse, the psalmist declares that God is not only all-powerful, but He is all-present.
God is "a very present help in trouble."
It is one thing for God to be all-powerful, but what if He is so far removed in the heights of heaven that He is never close by?
What good would it be for God to be all-powerful, yet be distantly removed from the psalmist's life?
He needs God to be in the furnace of affliction with him.
He needs Him to be in the boat with him as he sails through the tumultuous storms of life.
God could not be any more present in this difficulty.
He is closer than our own selves. The same is true for all believers today.
The Lord dwells within us to help us in every hour of greatest need.
At the end of this verse, the psalmist writes that God is very present when he is "in trouble."
God does not merely draw near to him when times are great.
Instead, He comes alongside him when the psalmist needs Him the most.
The same is true for you and me.
In our time of trouble, God is a very present help.
During the intense trials of life, we discover whether we are really leaning on the Lord, living for the Lord, or if we have been leaning on the empty props of this world.
Whatever the world may offer us as security, it is nothing compared to almighty God, who is our refuge and our strength in this time when we need Him so much.
><(((°>
This is an edited version.
The full article is avaiable on request
'OnePassion Ministries '
exists to ignite a supreme passion for God and His glory in all people throughout the world.
Our founder, Dr. Steven J. Lawson, has dedicated his life to help biblical expositors bring about a new reformation in the church.
Dr. Lawson has served as a pastor for over 40 years in Arkansas and Alabama and is currently the lead preacher at Trinity Bible Church of Dallas.
Dr. Lawson is a graduate of Texas Tech University (BBA), Dallas Theological Seminary (ThM), and Reformed Theological Seminary (DMin)
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