When you are in trouble who do you run to? Do you take your problems to God? Do you rely on God to help you make it through? Psalm 46:1 says, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” The first part of this scripture states that God is our refuge. To understand this part, we need to know what a refuge is. The dictionary says that a refuge is a condition of being safe or sheltered from pursuit, danger or trouble. God is a place of refuge, a place of security. God provides safety and shelter from danger and trouble. With God, we can feel secure knowing that he is working everything out for our good. When danger and trouble come we can take our problems to God and he will take away our anxiety and worries. He shelters us from the storms of life.
We will all have some trouble in this life, but God will be our refuge. He will be our place of safety where we can run to when our problems overwhelm us. When we cannot see a way out, God will always show us the way to deal we our problems. His word tells us to lean not to our own understanding, but believe and trust in him. When we are in trouble we should take our problems to God in prayer because he is our refuge. He will provide a safe place for us and he will shelter us from the storms of life.
Psalm 46:1 goes on to talk about God being our strength. He is not only a refuge, a place of safety, but he is our strength. The times when we think our problems will consume us, God gives us the strength to carry on. The word strength means power, endurance, boldness, and to be mighty. When problems come the stress and anxiety of dealing with them can drain us of our strength. But when we take our problems to God he will strengthen us and help us to stand in the face of adversity. His word reminds us that in this life we will have some troubles, but when we take our troubles to God in prayer he will work everything out for our good. In Matthew 11:28 it says, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” Take you problems to God and he will take away all your worries, anxiety and stress. We don’t have to fret when problems come our way, when we take our problems to the Lord in prayer. He will give you the strength to deal with any issue. Our problems are not too big for an almighty God.
The last part of Psalm 46:1 says that God is a very present help in trouble. God is a present help, which means he is right there when trouble comes. We don’t have to go looking for him under a rock or go on a long journey searching for him. He is right there waiting to help us. All we need to do is ask for his help. We can just call out the name Jesus and he will come see about us. If you don’t know what to pray just say Lord, please help me. God already knows what we need before we ask. He knows our past, present and future. He is just waiting on us to acknowledge him. His word tells us he will never leave us nor forsake us. He is always by our side.
We should not be afraid when trouble comes, just take our problems to the Lord in prayer. Let him work out every situation for our good. The next time we want to have a pity party and cry about our problems remember that God is our refuge. He is our strength and he is a present help in trouble. The next time trouble comes just fall on your knees and take your problem to God and leave it there. He already has a solution for our problems. He just wants us to put our faith and trust in him. If the birds do not worry about what they will eat and what they will drink. Why are we worried about the troubles of this world? We already know in this life we will have some troubles, but how we deal with these troubles determine if we will have peace and joy. God wants to bear our burdens. He wants us to have joy and peace. We must remember that when trouble comes to take all our problems to God in prayer. He is the only one that can work everything out for our good.
Linda Sharp-Williams 