Shalom, friends! I’ve been enjoying some soaking in the Psalms this month, and as I read Psalm 46 today, I really connected with its relevance as we prepare to embark on our pilgrimage. Fear and anxiety seem to be everywhere around us. Others (even Christians) sometimes encourage us to embrace a spirit of fear, even if they cloak it in other terms and even mean well.
Did you know that the most often-repeated command in the Bible is, “Do not be afraid”? It appears some 70 times in God’s Word, and ten of those are followed by, “Do not be discouraged.” That’s remarkable to me. And more often than not, the command not to fear is followed by an action that God is in the process of taking or that he will be taking. The fact that we see it over and over in the Bible reminds me that I need to hear it over and over—it’s one of those things that takes regular reinforcing and reminding because we are prone either to forget or to stop believing it. It’s been a long time since the drums of fear beat so loudly as they do today.
Of course, this does not mean that there’s nothing to be afraid of. What it does mean is that we who know God do not need to be afraid of those things. God is at work, will continue to be at work, and does not utter “Fear not” as a suggestion. Walking with him is a courageous walk on the premise that “he who is in us is greater than the one who is in the world.” (1 John 4:4).
How can such a thing as, “Do not be afraid,” be asked of us? It think Psalm 46:1-7 answers that question and is worth some soak time:
God is our refuge and strength,
an ever-present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
though its waters roar and foam
and the mountains quake with their surging.
There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
the holy place where the Most High dwells.
God is within her, she will not fall;
God will help her at break of day.
Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall;
he lifts his voice, the earth melts.
The Lord Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress. (NIV)
This powerful poetry anchors us to the reality that there is no set of circumstances that can change the fact of God’s presence, God’s power, or God’s dominion over nations and kingdoms, or even the earth itself, in uproar. Nothing can change God’s watchfulness over his people or his care for us. The “river” of God that flows through the chaos brings help, gives refuge and strength, and makes glad. And there is a further blessing that comes with it all because God doesn’t stop there: “The Lord gives strength to his people; the Lord blesses his people with peace (shalom).” (Psalm 29:11)
