Trusting God’s Abiding Presence
Trusting God’s abiding Presence Psalm 46:1
“God is our Refuge and Strength, a very present Help in trouble. Therefore, will not we fear.” Psalm 46:1-2a
If verse 1 is established as our bedrock foundation THEN we will be able to say, declare in the face of any storm, satanic attack to make us afrai
Therefore
Will not we fear
KJV language but this is stronger than the way we would say it like “we will not fear.” The way it says it in KJV language is like it is pre-determined because God is our Refuge and
This is Xnty 101 – basic foundational faith that God is with us (born from above). He is with us and watching over us as a good father not matter what happens in this life.
Our life is like a voyage or journey on a ship. We all experience wind, waves, and storms in life. Why do we need God to be our refuge?
- So that we live with fearless confidence trusting God who we can’t see more than the things we can see.
Paul said, “For the things that are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.” 2 Cor. 4:18
The trial or storm you are in at this moment is real and visible but only temporal. Every trial has an expiration date.
But God is not visible but is very real and is your refuge and you can trust Him through your trial or storm without having any fear.
FEAR = False Evidence Appearing Real or
FEAR = Face Everything And Rise
Faith and fear are opposites.
Ill. Disciples just watched Jesus’ miracle of feeding 5000 with 3 loaves and 2 fish. What were they to learn from this?
- That He is Lord and Master over our physical world.
- When He tells you to do something He intends to provide for you to be able to do it. “You feed them.”
- When Jesus tells you to do something – Trust Him
- Jesus is the Way maker, promise keeper, promise keeper, light in.
They were privileged to personally listen to Jesus teach all day and then demonstrate faith by a miracles feeding 5000. They should have been soaring high in faith with no room for fear.
Ill. In school after the teacher teaches – the teacher will stop teaching and give students a test. This is what happened after the miracle feed.
“Immediately He compelled His disciples to get into the boat and go to the other side. . . He sent them away and He departed to mountain to pray. When evening came He saw them straining at rowing for the wind was against them. About the fourth watch of the night He came to them walking on the sea and WOULD HAVE PASSED THEM BY. But when they saw Him they thought it was a ghost and they cried out for they were troubled.
Immediately He spoke,
“DON’T YIELD TO FEAR. HAVE COURAGE. IT IS REALLY ME – I AM! ” Then HE went into the boat and the wind ceased. They were completely overwhelmed because they failed to learn the lesson of the miracle of the loaves and fishes.” Mark 6:47-52 Passion/MEV
If only they had learned the lesson Jesus just taught them then they would have not been afraid.
Fear is a sign to the enemy that he is winning.
Faith in God is a sign to the enemy he is losing.
For us today, if we all would only learn this one valuable lesson in Psalm 46:1 then we would face our trials and storms with courage and never fear.
“God is our Refuge and Strength, a very present Help in trouble. Therefore, will not we fear.” Psalm 46:1-2a
Listen to what Paul wrote while living in a jail for preaching the gospel.
“Do not be frightened by your adversaries. This is a sign to them of their destruction, but of your salvation from God. For to you it has been granted not only to believe in Christ, but also to suffer for His sake, having the same conflict you saw in me.” Phil. 1:28-30
“Never be shaken or intimidated by the opposition that rises up against us. . .” Passion translation
Why? Because “God is our Refuge and Strength, a very present Help in trouble. Therefore, will not we fear.” Psalm 46:1-2a
Bible records 2 storms Jesus was in:
1. Jesus in the boat sleeping in storm.
2. Jesus watching then walking in the storm.
Hell is after your confidence!
“Cast not away your confidence which will be greatly rewarded. You have need of patience, so that after you have done the will of God, you will receive the promise. Very soon He will come.” Heb. 10:35-37
So don’t throw it all away now. You were sure of yourselves then. It’s still a sure thing! But you need to stick it out, staying with God’s plan so you’ll be there for the promised completion. It won’t be long now, He’s on the way; He’ll show up most any minute. Message Bible
Question: Did God send these storms or was it the devil?
The answer is yes. Both. Satan rages to steal your confidence in God.
In our voyage of life, we must settle our faith in what Psalm 46:1 declares over us.
It is okay to ask Jesus to help us when we are in trouble. But it should come from a settled, anxious for nothing confidence that He is already with us and is already our refuge.
- Sometimes He lets the storm rage. But we can be just as calm then as when it’s over if we really trust God’s abiding presence.
- Sometimes we see His Presence and sometimes we don’t but He is still present with us.
Luke 8 account Jesus was with the disciples in the boat. He had instructed “Let us go to the other side.” He went to sleep in the storm.
“You have authority over any storm you can sleep in.” Bill Johnson
The disciples were afraid and Jesus is asleep. When they finally woke Him, they asked Him why He did not care that they were perishing. He rebuked the wind, and released peace over the sea. He then asked them why they had no faith. This moment illustrates how the Kingdom works, how faith works: It works from rest.
The voice of fear attracts the devil and the voice of faith repels him. He knows the difference.
This place of rest is called abiding in Christ. It is a life connection to Christ inside us who is our peace.
Peace is not the absence of trouble. It is the Presence of God in us ruling over our storms. Living in the confidence that He is with me.
We bring peace in the atmosphere wherever we go.
If we lose our peace it is because we made a mental agreement to believe a lie.
If we lose our peace we need to repent of believing the lie and take back our emotions from believing that lie. When we are afraid we let an enemy dart get past our shield of faith and enter our soul. The best thing to do is repent for believing the lie and get back to confessing the promises of God.
Always keep God’s promises within reach and speak them out loud when fear attacks. This is a good one to start with.
“God is Refuge and Strength, a very present Help in trouble. Therefore, will not we fear.” Psalm 46:1-2a
In one account the disciples said,
“Who is this that the wind and waves obey Him?”
“Who is this that _______ and ______ obey Him?”
Concl:
Final point. Jesus walking on water by disciples straining at rowing.
“He came to them walking on the sea and would have passed by them.” Mark 6:48
Another time on Emmaus road Jesus walking with disciples and they did not recognize Him. “As they drew near the village He seemed to be going farther, but they urged Him to stay with them.”
How often does Jesus come to us in our troubles or storms and reveal Himself in a way we did not know. How often would He keep on going unless we urge Him to stay and teach us about Himself.
If all we want is the storm to end then we miss the point.
Lord, reveal Yourself to me in this trial, trouble or storm more than stopping my storm.
1. It is important that we invite Him into our boat – life voyage.
2. We allow Him to make a change of direction in our life.
During the storm the disciples were straining at oars and getting no where. When Jesus got into their boat look what happened.
“Then they gladly received Him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going.” John 6:21
God’s presence in your life and allowed to direct your life makes all the difference in the world. Get this settled today.
“God is our Refuge and Strength, a very present Help in trouble. Therefore, will not we fear.” Psalm 46:1-2a