Hi, I’m Larry Sparks, publisher for Destiny Image, welcome to God Today. In the midst of all the stuff that is going on in the world right now, in the midst of what is going on in your life, I believe the Lord wants to give you strength. I look at Psalm 46, a scripture many of us are familiar with. Immediately we go to the verse in Psalm 46, “Be still and know I am God.” I don’t want to go there today. I want to go to something I believe is going to give you an elevated perspective.
In the midst of all the chaos and crisis, Heaven knows whether you read the newspaper, whether you scroll through the headlines in social media, or whether you are just experiencing the daily stuff you are going through in your life, in your family – there is chaos, there is crisis. See if in some way, you can relate in some way to what the Psalmist is talking about here. Psalm 46:1, “God is our help. Our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore, we will not fear, though the Earth gives way.” Pause and think about that. Do you just feel like sometimes everything is shaking around you? Do you feel like the Earth is giving way? Like the rug is being pulled out from underneath you? What is going on? It says, “Therefore, we will not fear though the Earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea. Though it’s waters roar and foam, and though the mountains tremble at its swelling.” If we stop there it would be pretty discouraging. Do you know what the psalmist is doing? He is actually relating to you. I believe there is so much there that we can relate to. How many of you feel that way? Whether it is in your personal life, in your family. Whether it is financial, health related, relational, you feel like things are shaking.
Like I said earlier, if you are going through headlines, and you are dealing with the news and what you read and see, sometimes things seem dark and dismal. You wonder “God what is your plan? What are you doing?” I believe the Lord has a solution. He didn’t end with verse 3 here. He didn’t end Psalm 46:3: just be aware of the situation, be aware of the surroundings because that is how it is. It is going to be dark, it is going to be disparaging, it is going to be bad. He didn’t end there. Do you know what it ends with? He ends with this statement: “Though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at it’s swelling.” Pause and calmly think about this, this is the powerful revelation that we are introduced to. In the midst of all this, verse 4 says, “There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God.”
I want to encourage you right now. In the midst of everything, in the midst of what you are going through, in the midst of what society and the nations are going through. There is a river. It is not some abstract thing. What does Jesus say in John 7? “Inside of you,” not outside of you, not something you have to beg, plead, “God, please send this to me.” Inside of you if you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. Within you there is a river, and out of that river flows the very life, the Kingdom, the power of God. It is inside of you.
I want to encourage you. In the midst of whatever you are going through right now. Let’s pray. Father God, that rive that is inside of me, He is a name, His name is Holy Spirit. In the midst of all the shaking that is going on, in the midst of all the stuff I am dealing with, help me to dram from the life-giving source – the Holy Spirit. His presence and power within me. I have good news. At any moment you can draw from His life-giving resource. He lives inside of you. You don’t have to beg for His presence, He is already there, He is a free gift to you. Jesus paid a high price with His blood, yes so you go to Heaven, but also so that Heaven would take up residence in you. Through the person, the power of the Spirit. In the midst of the chaos, guess what? There is a river that will make you unshakeable, it will make you stable, and it will refresh you even in the darkest times.