Psalm Meditation 503
Fifth Sunday After Epiphany
February 7, 2010

Psalm 46
1 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change, though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea;
3 though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble with its tumult. Selah
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 the city; it shall not be moved; God will help it when the morning dawns.
6 The nations are in an uproar, the kingdoms totter; he utters his voice, the earth melts.
7 The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah
8 Come, behold the works of the LORD; see what desolations he has brought 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 shields with fire.
10 "Be still, and know that I am God! I am exalted among the nations, I am exalted in the earth."
11 The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah
(NRSV)

I have an image of a wildlife refuge with the animals pressed against the fence taunting hunters with their presence on the edge. I wonder how many of us stand on the fringes of the refuge of God and wonder why it is we are so sorely tempted by the people, places and things right next to us on the other side of the fence. We stand with our noses outside the fence and our fingers intermeshed with the links. We spend our time looking out at all that we are missing and wonder why the presence of God feels like a cage instead of a refuge.

The psalmist is encouraging us to turn around so that we can enjoy all there is to experience on the God side of the fence. There are rivers and cities and new dawns and there is desolation. There is something for every mood and temperament within the refuge of God. It is up to us to move away from the fence wondering what we are missing out there, move into the heart of the refuge to discover what we have been missing in there. God is waiting to be God for us.

In the midst of all the wondering and wandering it does us well to stop from time to time and simply be. There are folks who are more comfortable doing and others more comfortable being, however we each have to do the other from time to time. Sometimes we do well to stop all the hustle and bustle and allow the presence of God to wash over us and through us so that we can do what we do in the assurance of God’s abiding presence.

© February 1, 2010