A Very Present Help in Times of Trouble

Psalm 46:1-3, NRSV

Can I get a witness that God is a well proved help in trouble? The longer we live, the more seasons we experience. Therefore, we have a testimony; it should be that God is a well proved help in trouble. We have experienced seasons of good and evil. There may have been seasons of fear, uncertainty, joblessness, financial lack, anger, disappointment, sickness, and other cares that cause us uneasiness and doubt. Whatever our seasons of need are – mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual – God is our supplier, and He never runs short. Because He knows all about our troubles, there is nothing too hard for Him; we just have to trust Him. We must “be still, and know that He is God” (v.10)!

Here the psalmist begins by telling us “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble or a very well proved help in trouble” (v.1). He is our   fortress that the enemy cannot breach. The hymn writer asks “Where Could I Go? Oh, where could I go seeking a refuge for my soul? Needing a friend to save me in the end, where could I go but to the Lord?” There’s no other who can save us. He is our strength that the Goliaths of the world cannot out muscle. When we face the troubles of life, He gives us strength to carry on. Oh, what joy it is for children of God to know that no matter what season we’re in, God is here through thick and thin! “The Lord is near to all who call on Him, to all who call on Him in truth (Psalm 145:18, AMP). “God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth” (John 4:24).

The psalmist concludes these three verses, writing, “Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change, the mountains shake in the heart of the sea (v.2); its waters roar and foam, and the mountains tremble with its tumult, Selah” (v.3). Troubles may come on every hand in every way, but we are not to be afraid   because we have the assurance that “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble or a very well proved help in trouble.”