Dial In with Jonny Ardavanis - Psalm 46: God is With Us

Episode Date: August 31, 2023

In this episode, Jonny Ardavanis looks at three precious truths from Psalm 46: God is our refuge, God is our strength, and God is an ever-present help in times of trouble.Are you facing a trial? Is there something that keeps you up at night? Is there something that you are afraid of?Then listen to the truths the psalmist declares about our great God.Watch VideosVisit the Website Follow on InstagramFollow on Twitter

Hey guys, my name is Johnny Artavanis and this is Dial In. In this episode, we're going to look at the reality that God is present in the lives of his children. In Psalm 46, it says God is our refuge and our strength. And then it says an ever-present help in times of trouble. If you're a Christian, your God is not a distant deity. He is a near and present father. We're going to explore what that means. Let's dial in. For many of us, 2020 is a year we will not soon forget. In January of 2020, there was a report that the United States military had ordered an airstrike on an Iranian general. And the aftermath of that attack had people wondering about global stability as a whole. Amongst the most Googled searches that month was World War III.

In March of 2020, I remember I was sitting with my wife Katie in Oxnard, California, and we were told that Governor Newsom had issued a 15-day stay-at-home order in order to slow the spread. Those 15 days turned into multiple months with closed beaches, closed campuses, and closed businesses. The tension of this time was compounded when George Floyd, in May, he died, and now the coverage in the media was split between COVID and then the growing riots, protests, and demonstrations that were ensuing. In June of 2020, it was the first time I had ever heard of CHAZ, which was the autonomous zone in the heart of Seattle. The residents there had their own city, and they would throw rocks and glass and fireworks and debris at any and all officials who tried to shut down their protest. The madness continued with a hotly contested election. Reports of manipulation, corruption, and fraud became very

relevant. And this is all in one year. And I'm not even including the reports of murder hornets. But the turbulent headlines continued in 2021. Number one, it says Iran advances in their nuclear capabilities. Number two, weakening borders. Number three, supply chains falter. In 2022, Russia invades Ukraine. And once again, reports of World War Three begin to loom. During this time, South America continues to lean towards socialism. And in our own country, as soon as the restrictions from COVID seem to deflate, the prices of everything seem to inflate. U.S. and China tension seems to elevate. And then in February of 2023, there is a massive earthquake in Turkey and Syria. Nearly 60,000 people die. In March, in Nashville, the city where I now pastor, there is a shooting.

It's not across the ocean, but in our own backyard, hearts are broken. Families are devastated. The community is shaken. And then recently, one of the trending hashtags on Twitter was hashtag mask up 2023 as if COVID is making a return. And these are just the headlines. But behind the headlines are many individual stories, stories of cancer, layoffs, miscarriages, infertility and car accidents,

stories, situations and circumstances that propel us to consider the mayhem of the world. On top of this, there is the growing resistance in our own country to those who adhere to biblical Christianity. I say biblical Christianity because we live in a country where 63% of individuals still claim to be Christian, but few of them adhere to the teachings of the Bible and adhere to what the scripture says about

sexuality, morality, and the truth of Jesus Christ. And at times like these, you survey the headlines, you read the news, and maybe you're tempted to feel fearful. Both believers as well as unbelievers read the same headlines and feel the same effects of living as a fallen creature in a fallen world. But the truth is, what we're going to look at in this episode, is that only the Christian can be comforted, strengthened, and rejoice amidst the storms of this life. The preacher in Ecclesiastes says there is nothing new under the sun. So even what we've just really evaluated in regards to what's happened in our world the last three years, national and natural instability is nothing new, but it's been on the forefront of the minds of God's people

for centuries. And in this regard, the sons of Korah are going to help us in this episode. 11 of the Psalms are attributed to this musical group, and many of the Psalms that they write are written against the backdrop of historical events that include physical danger, emotional loss, and psychological fear in the life of Israel. And such is the case when we come to Psalm 46. There are different types of psalms in the Psalter. There are 150 psalms, but there are psalms of thanksgiving. There are psalms of lament. But this psalm, Psalm 46, is a psalm of trust, an affirmation of who God is that leads us to trust him. A few years ago, when I was going through a study in the attributes of God on this podcast, we looked at the reality that God is

omniscient, which is the reality that God knows everything. And we looked at his holiness and we looked at his sovereignty and we looked at his goodness and his love. But in this episode, I want you to be thoroughly persuaded of the presence of God in your life. Psalm 46 verse one affirms three great truths. It says, number one, that God is our refuge, that he is our strength, and that he is an ever present help in times of trouble. I want to look at each of these profound truths, but before we do so, I want you to notice the tense of the verb in Psalm 46, verse one. It says, God is our refuge. It doesn't say God was, it doesn't say God will be. It says, God is our refuge and our strength. The truth is what the scripture says then is what the scripture means now. So God is our refuge. He has never increased in power and he

will never decrease in power. He has never increased in the sense of his nearness and will never decrease in the reality of his nearness to his children. Do you know that about your God? That in an ever changing world, God himself says in Malachi 3.6, I, Yahweh, do not change. So first of all, I want you to look with me at the reality that God is our refuge in Psalm 46, verse 1. This psalm is likely written against the backdrop of Sennacherib's attack on Jerusalem. The year was 701 BC and the evil king of Assyria had destroyed everyone in his path on the way to Jerusalem. The people of God gathered inside the city of Jerusalem and there they watched as 200,000 Assyrian soldiers marched on their city and then surrounded their walls. Imagine the terror as your young children look over the

walls of the city and see themselves surrounded by the army that had laid waste to all the other cities and nations in their path. In 2 Kings 18, we get just a glimpse of the story that's unfolding. The commander of Sennacherib's army comes out and says to the people within the city, do not let Hezekiah, that's the king, deceive you, for he will not be able to deliver you from my hand, nor let Hezekiah make you trust in Yahweh, saying that Yahweh will surely deliver us and the city will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.

He's mocking them. And then he says again in 2 Kings 18.33, Do not listen to Hezekiah. Has any of the gods of the nations delivered his land from the hand of the king of Assyria? Who among all of the gods of the lands have delivered their land from my hand that Yahweh should deliver Jerusalem from my hand. That's Sennacherib's commander. He's taunting them saying, don't let Hezekiah convince you that Yahweh will be able to save you. Look at our army. Look at our military strength. And then it says in second Kings 19, that Hezekiah hears this

and he goes and he tears his clothes and he puts sackcloth on and he goes into the temple and he prays, Oh God. And second Kings 1919, Oh Lord, our God, I pray deliver us from his hand that all of the kingdoms of the earth may know that you alone, Oh Yahweh, our God. Do you know how the story ends? Well, it says in 2 Kings 19.35, Then it happened that night that the angel of Yahweh went out and struck 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians. And when men rose early in the morning, behold, all of them were dead. Many of the commentators believe that this is the context that Psalm 46 is written against.

It compels the sons of Korah to record that God is a refuge for his people. When they had nowhere else to turn and when they were in danger, when they had enemies crouching in on them, God is a refuge. I remember when I was a kid, there were these tornadoes in Chicago. And at one point there was such a fierce tornado that the entire church gathered in the basement. The power went off and several of the men had flashlights, but there we were gathered and there we were safe from the storm above. This is what it means to be a Christian in one sense. It means to have a place to go.

It means to have a refuge in God. God is your refuge. A different word is used to convey the same meaning in Psalm 46 verses 7 and 11. It there says that God is our stronghold. Whenever we face little squirmishes or big battles in our life, we must turn to God. In all of our ways, we must acknowledge him and he will keep our path straight. Then we will be able to say with David and Psalm 62, trust in him at all times. Oh, people pour out your heart before him. God is a refuge for us. Now, what does it mean to run to God as a refuge?

Well, practically it means to run to the revelation that he has given to us in his word. It means to flee to him in prayer. It should be as natural for you to run to God in his word and in prayer as it is for a baby to cry out for their mother's milk. Someone once asked Charles Spurgeon, what's more important, reading the Bible or praying to God? And Spurgeon said, I'll answer you with a question. What's more important, breathing in or breathing out? You cannot take refuge in God if you disregard the resources he

has given to us as a means to commune with him. This is the way you as a Christian find refuge in God. Our father is the refuge and Jesus is the only way to the father. And you cannot walk alongside the highways and the byways of life and the father. And you cannot walk alongside the highways and the byways of life and find shelter amidst the stormy blast unless you come to know Jesus in his word and in prayer. The reality is even as we surveyed the headlines and the news and the turbulence and the trouble that's rampant in our world, you are in danger. You are unsafe. You are unsound unless you come to the refuge. And the only way to the refuge is through Jesus Christ. So first, we see that God is our refuge. And secondly, we see that God is our strength. As a Christian, we not only need shelter from

the stormy blast, we not only need protection from gusts and gales, we need strength. When we arrive at the shelter, we are likely weary. We are faint hearted and we need to be strengthened. And for this reason, the Psalm says, God is our refuge and he is our strength. God is both our defense and our offense. He protects the fearful and he energizes and strengthens the downcast. Jeremiah, David, and Elijah were men of God, but they were human. They lacked the strength to live for God on their own. They needed, you need a supernatural supply of strength. The Christian life is not hard. It's impossible. You cannot live it in your own strength. Therefore, we need God to give us what we cannot give ourself. The Christian faith

is not the story of a lot of strong men and strong women, but the story of weak men that God makes strong. Paul says, when I am weak, God proves himself to be strong. Do you believe that? Be a man, be strong, but being a Christian man isn't machismo. It's the humble recognition that even on your strongest day, you are too weak to live for God without God. At times, God must deplete us physically and emotionally of all strengths so that we are compelled to find our strength in him. Can you say in your heart the great claim of the psalmist in Psalm 28 verse 7, the Lord is my strength. The Lord is my shield. My heart trusts in him. Now I want to ask you a question before we continue. What prevents us from running

to God as a refuge and finding him as our strength? Well, I want to suggest just a few reasons. We live in a world that runs to finances as a refuge. Many find their strongholds in pensions, passive income, and nest egg. But if Jesus says in Matthew 19, how difficult is it for the rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven? How much more difficult is it for the rich man to run to God as a refuge? Maybe you're tempted to trust your portfolio more than you trust God. Maybe you have set up treasures and security here on earth so that you do not run to the refuge who sits on the throne of heaven. Money is not wrong. It's not money that is the root of all evil, but the love of money. But you can have money and view it with an open hand and view it as the Lord's. And conversely, you could have nothing and still be greedy, covetous, and

envious of those who do. As a nation, potentially, we look to economic and political stability instead of running to God as our refuge. We look to our military power, and when all else fails, we call on God. Many people today use God as a divine cop-out. We dial a divine 911 when we have nowhere else to go, and therefore, instead of God being our first call, he becomes our last resort. Those with this mindset can never say with David, the Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock and whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. That's Psalm 18 verse two. It's human nature to put our trust and strength in human

resources and human instruments, but that is a vain pursuit. David says in Psalm 20, some boast in chariots and some boast in horses, but we will boast in the name of the Lord, our God. Can I just ask you, are you facing a battle in your life right now? Is there something that overwhelms you?

Is there an insomnia producing, sleep stealing thing that keeps you awake at night? A trial, a temptation, a trouble? Do you feel drained, weary, despairing, and despondent? Is it possible that part of your trouble or part of your trial is that you're trying to cope with it in your own strength? Could it be that you aren't running to God as a refuge? You aren't learning and to rely on God as your strength. Many churches't learning and to rely on God as your strength. Many churches today don't sing the third verse of one of my favorite hymns, which is be thou my vision. But that third verse says, be thou my battle shield sword for the fight. Be thou my dignity, thou my delight, thou my soul's shelter, thou my high tower, raise hymn means, that is,

that you have no protection, no power, no shelter, if not found in God. Are you running to paper mache strongholds? Make your pick. Strongholds made of popsicle sticks or the stronghold that is the rock of ages. So in the psalm, we see that God is first our refuge. Secondly, that he's our strength. And third, he is our ever present help. Many fortresses need to be traveled to. Refuges are in elevated positions. The people would have to come out of the lowlands when neighboring nations would attack and would have to come to the high ground

on the journey. They could be overcome and ambushed. There was the fear of never making it to the refuge at all. Some people would debate whether to stay or go because to go to the refuge was a risk in of itself. Why? Because the refuge was distant. It was a far way off, but God is not a distant refuge. It says in Psalm 46 that he is an ever present refuge. The literal rendering of this Hebrew is that God is very findable. You don't have to travel to find him. He is as near as your next breath and he is nearer than your trouble itself. This is who God is. He is near. In the book of Exodus, God delivers his people from the hand of Pharaoh in Egypt. The plagues and the power of God are well documented, In the book of Exodus, God delivers his people from the hand of Pharaoh in Egypt. The

plagues and the power of God are well documented, but the majority of the book of Exodus is not on the plagues, but on the tabernacle. The main storyline is that God had delivered his people, not to ditch them, but to dwell amongst them. There are two chapters in the Pentateuch on how God created the entire world, but 50 chapters on the tabernacle where God would come to dwell amongst his people. This is the storyline of the Bible. God made us to dwell with him. He is an ever present help in times of trouble. And do you know what? He never takes a leave of absence. He is not a sometimes present God. He's not an often present God. He is an ever present God. In Psalm 139, David reflects on the truth of God's presence and acknowledges that whether he goes north or south or west or east or light or in the dark,

it doesn't matter because God is there. Our God is transcendent, which means he is high. He's lifted up. He's the creator, ruler, and sustainer of all things. He's transcendent, which means he is high. He's lifted up. He's the creator, ruler, and sustainer of all things. He's transcendent. And yet in amazing condescension and his word, he reveals himself as a God who is also imminent, which means that he is near. The psalmist will come back to this reality in Psalm 46 and verses seven and 11 saying that God is with us, but in order that we don't minimize the gravity of our ever-present God, it tells us who exactly is with us. It says in verse 7 and 11 of Psalm 46 that the Lord of hosts is with us. The Lord of hosts is with us. Over 25 times in the book of Malachi, God will refer to himself by this very title,

the Lord of hosts or the God of armies. Now think with me, one angel in second Kings wipes out 185,000 Assyrians. And yet God is the Lord and King over the hosts of angel armies. God is proud of this and he wants you to know this. Why? Well, because he wants you to understand that when you run to God as refuge, the one you go to for strength, the one who is an ever present help in times of trouble, he's not a mayor of a small village. He is the ruler over the armies of heaven. He is the one who gives strength to the weary. And on top of this, he is a very findable,

ever-present help. Understand this, that in your loneliest moment, in your weakest position, in your most fearful stage, God was as near as your next breath. Because he is not only ever-present, he is an ever-present help. In the book Pilgrim's Progress, there's a part where Christian, the main character, falls into the slew of despond, and he can't get out. He just can't get out on his own. His sins are too heavy on his back, and the mud of the slew is too deep. But then a man comes along, and the man's name is Help. And in the marginal note of the book, John Bunyan says, help is Jesus. And that is who our God is. He is an ever present help.

In the past, I've done an episode on God's sovereignty, even over our trials and pain. But God is not only sovereign, he is also with us in our pain. He doesn't hide himself. He doesn't tease his children. He doesn't taunt them from afar. He isn't saying warmer, He doesn't tease his children. He doesn't taunt them from afar. He isn't saying warmer, warmer or colder, colder. He is there with us. What a wonderful thing it is to be a child of God. The world is without a true refuge. They're without supernatural

strength and they're in need of help. And Christ is to his own, a refuge, a strength and the help that they need. Now what's the implication of all this? Well, Psalm 46 tells us in the following verse, it says, therefore, we will not fear because God is my refuge, because he is my strength, because he is an ever-present help in times of trouble. You do not need to be afraid of anything. In a world of chaos, the believer does not panic. The great preacher, Dr. Martin Lloyd-Jones, says that faith is the refusal to panic. And so it is. Because in heaven, there is no panic. There are only plans. The psalmist is begging us to ask, what reason on earth would you have to be anxious? In Philippians 4.6, it says, be anxious for nothing, nothing at

all. And the reality is we often don't include the necessary verse that comes right before that in Philippians 4.5. And the reason that Paul tells us we can be anxious for nothing is because right prior to that, he says that God is near. Therefore, we don't have any reason to be anxious, even if Psalm 46 continues to say, even if the mountains fall into the sea, even if the earth should change, even if Russia invades and hostility comes, even if the economy crashes and your nest egg is crushed

and your talents disappear, God is your refuge. The earth may shake and it may quake, but God is the rock of ages. The earth may change, but God is your refuge. The earth may shake and it may quake, but God is the rock of ages. The earth may change, but God does not change. The true believer's refuge is in God, not in God plus anything else. The world can be in flames and yet we are within the refuge that is God, nourished by his supply and comforted by his presence. Has God ever left his own to fend for themselves? No, he has not. This is the great comfort that we have as Christians.

In verse 10 of this very Psalm, Psalm 46, we come to the familiar line that says, be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted amongst the nations. I remember reading Elizabeth Elliot, who is a woman I greatly admire. She suffered the loss of two husbands. The first, Jim Elliot, was killed by Aka Indians in Ecuador while attempting to reach them with the gospel. The second, her husband Addison, was slowly consumed by cancer. And reflecting upon these popular words in this well-known verse,

she meditates upon the psalm saying that in the first shock of death, everything seems to be giving way. And then she says, mountains are falling, earth is reeling. In such a time, it is a profound comfort to know that although all these things seem to be shaken, one thing is not. God is not shaken. She then adds though that the thing that is most needed to do is what the psalmist does later, which is to be still and know that God is God. But she helps explain what that verse even means. She continues by saying

that God is God, whether we recognize it or not, but it comforts us and infuses strength into our faltering spirits to rest on the truth. Therefore, in this setting, and you need to understand this, that to be still and know that I am God is not just the verse you put on your caption as you drink coffee by the lake, or it's not just the encouragement to sit and relax and be still and live a contemplative life. Be still and know that I am God is against the backdrop in Psalm 46 of the raging sea, the quaking earth and the warring nations and above the madness exalted above the mayhem. God is the one who says quiet, be still, know that I am God laid down your arms surrender. I am the only true God. I will be exalted above the earth. I am the only refuge. I am the only true God. I will be exalted above the earth. I am the only refuge.

I am the only strength. And I am the only ever-present help in times of trouble for my people. And then the psalm ends, Selah. It means to pause. It means to rest. And I pray that is what you do. Rest in the truth that God is with us. That he is our help. that he is our help,

that he is our strength, and that he is a refuge for his people. Stay dialed in.