Today’s reading is Psalm 46.
2012 has come and gone. The world is still standing. Looks like the Mayans got it wrong. However, I’m sure some historian or archaeologist will figure out we just misunderstood their math. He’ll come up with a new date so a new crop of cataclysmic disaster movies can rake in the millions. However, the sons of Korah didn’t need a wide screen theater to envision the collapse of the world. Actually, all they had to do was remember the creation account and envision it going in reverse.
Instead of waters dividing and dry land appearing, they pictured the land simply falling back into the water as it roared and foamed over the quickly engulfed land. If you started to see that, how would you feel? Would you be chicken little: “The sky is falling! The sky is falling!”? Or would you be the sons of Korah: “Our God is with us! Our God is with us!”?
The sons of Korah sang about their God. He is a refuge. He is strength. He is a very present help in trouble. For them even the ground collapsing, the tidal wave, the mountain falling into the sea was no need to fear. God would care for them. They had their faith in God.
Perhaps we are now see the faith that allowed the sons of Korah to write Psalms 42, 43, and 44. We wondered when reading them why someone who felt like God wasn’t keeping up His end of the bargain would keep on praying. Here we see why. No matter what it seemed like in the moment, they believed God is a refuge. He is the solid ground. He is the mountain. He is the fortress. They believed He is the only refuge. Look, if the world really is caving in on itself, where are you actually going to go? You go to God.
What about when THE world isn’t caving in, but MY world is? How will I act then? Fact is, this psalm demonstrates there are times when it is like the earth is giving way and the mountains are falling into the sea. There are times in our lives when it seems like all the supports are kicked out from under us, when everything that was a solid foundation in our lives has gone into upheaval. What will we do then? The sons of Korah knew what they would do. They would turn to God. They would keep praying to Him. They would hang on to Him no matter what. After all, God brought Noah through the flood, Jacob through his meeting with Esau, Joseph through his slavery and imprisonment, Israel through the Red Sea. When the floods are rising, the mountains are crumbling, life is collapsing, God is there. I’ll hang on to Him. How about you?
Tomorrow’s reading is Psalm 46
P.S. No this doesn’t mean if the floodwaters are literally rising in your neighborhood that you refuse to get into the evacuation vehicles that come along. This is simply saying, no matter what is going on in life, I’m going to keep on serving God His way.
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Discuss the Following Questions with Your Family
- What are your initial reactions to the psalm and the written devo above?
- Have you ever felt like your world was caving in? If so, when? If not, can you imagine what that would feel like?
- Why do you think it is easy for people to abandon God when it feels like their world is collapsing?
- What advice to maintain faith would you give someone if they said they felt like their world was collapsing?
- What do you think we should pray for and about in light of this psalm and our discussion today?
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