God, our refuge, Part II

Last time we studied, we talked about how God is our refuge when troubles arrive. Let's dig in again to Psalm 46:

The nations made an uproar, the kingdoms tottered;
He raised His voice, the earth quaked.
7 The Lord of armies is with us;
The God of Jacob is our stronghold.Selah  V. 6-7)

Our God is more powerful than the raging of nations . . . many of the cities in the ancient world (and in our modern one) are built on a river. In modern times, it was not just for the resource of drinking water, but also to power looms and mills and machinery. In ancient times, cities needed a close supply of water, especially during a siege. When an enemy army surrounded a city, the inhabitants needed to have the assurance that they would have water to keep them alive.

When Sennacherib attacked Jerusalem, he assumed that their location would ultimately drive them to defeat - he thought there was a lack of water, since Jerusalem was an exception to the rule, and was not located on the banks of a river. 
Little did he know, Jerusalem had a source of water!

Wise King Hezekiah had built an underground tunnel. It began at the spring of Gihon and brought water 1,777 feet through solid rock, ending at the pool of Siloam. That little stream provided all the water that Jerusalem needed during Sennacherib's siege of the city.

That river is a metaphor for the awesome spiritual resource of the Lord Himself:

God is in the midst of her, she will not be moved;
God will help her when morning dawns. (v. 5)

God is the living water Who alone can satisfy our spiritual thirst. He is the One Who is powerful enough to stop the uproar of nations simply by raising His voice.

Jesus talked about spiritual thirst long after the psalmist penned these verses:

but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life. (John 4:14) 

And our Savior said this, as well:

Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink.  The one who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, 'From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.’” (John 7:37-38)

Jesus was referring to the Holy Spirit, Who is given to every believer. Our enemies may think we are up against the wall, and that we have no hope. They may think that we have no resources to battle our problems, but as Tweety says in the cartoon, "Dey don't know me vewwy well!" We have the awesome resources and strength of our God!

Whatever problems rage against us, God's Spirit is the ever-flowing river Who sustains us and gives us gladness even when we are under attack! If we believers would learn to drink from the abundant river of the Spirit, why should we ever turn to the supposed wisdom of godless men like Freud and Jung? Why would we ever seek counsel from any unbeliever? (And yes, I do believe that if a believer seeks counseling or therapy of any kind, it should be from a Christian caregiver - ALWAYS.) God is our refuge and resource in times of trouble. 

Verses nine through eleven of our psalm talks about how God is the ruler over the rebels of the earth.

He makes wars to cease to the end of the earth;
He breaks the bow and cuts the spear in two;
He burns the chariots with fire.
10 “Stop striving and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted on the earth.”
11 The Lord of armies is with us;
The God of Jacob is our stronghold. Selah (v 9-11)

We have discussed this concept before: nations may rage and proud men may rebel, but the purposes of God will always be fulfilled. It is He Who sets up kings and removes them as He wills.  It is He Who is God, the great IAM, and He alone will be exalted in the earth. When our Savior returns, He will crush all opposition to His reign, and the mightiest, largest armies on earth are no match for His power. 

Once you think about it, this God Who rules over His creation, Who can speak the word and an entire army drops dead, is the One Who is sufficient for all of our problems! When trouble strikes, we need to focus on our God Who is sufficient. He is our refuge. He's our resource. He's our ruler. And He is our redeemer.