Psalm Meditation 964
Second Sunday of Advent
December 9, 2018

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)

“Be still, and know that I am God! I am exalted among the nations, I am exalted in the earth.” Some days the most important part of this verse is the reminder to be still. We can get so agitated, inside and out, by all that needs to be done that we lose track of God. Even when, especially when, what we are doing has great value to us and those around us, it is important to stop from time to time, take a deep breath, and know that we are in the presence of God. By taking a moment to be still we realize that God is with us and we gain a wider perspective on our lives.

Waters will continue to roar, nations will continue to totter, and wars will continue to rage around us. We will be impacted by these events directly and indirectly. We will know people who are in the way of devastating events. Some of us will know people who are responsible for the terrors that surround us. We can get caught up in the seriousness of all that is going on and feel the hope drain out of us as things spiral down and all seems lost. We may begin to wonder where God is in the midst of these trials. Is God cause or cure of the hardships of life?

Being still and knowing that YHWH is God gives us a long perspective. In the midst of all the suffering, we see God as a refuge from rather than the cause of all the devastation around us. In both life and death God will be with us in a way that is impossible for anyone or anything else. God will stand with us when we are able to stand up to, ‘the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune.’ God will sit with us when our energy has faded and we are overwhelmed by the tiniest thing. “The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge.”

December 3, 2018
LCM