Faith Presbyterian Church - Birmingham
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Faith Presbyterian Church - Birmingham
Psalm 46:1-11; A Psalm for Tragedy
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Jason Sterling July 13, 2025 Faith Presbyterian Church Birmingham, AL Bulletin
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Finding an Unshakable Refuge
Speaker 1If you have a copy of God's Word, turn with me this morning to Psalm 46. So go to the center of your Bible. You'll find the book of Psalms. We are continuing this morning our study through the book of Psalms. We've been looking at various Psalms this summer and, as you're turning there, I want to open with a question. As you're turning there, I want to open with a question when do you turn? What do you hold on to when your news feed is too much to bear? What do you hold on to or reach out for when your world falls apart? When the phone call comes that changes everything, or when you get the diagnosis that completely rewrites your story, when the earth around you feels like it's giving way in your life, what do you grab onto life? What do you grab onto? Well, in Psalm 46, the psalmist knows what that's like. He faces an earth-shaking moment, and in those moments he finds something to grab onto that is unshakable, when everything else around him felt like it was giving way. You'll see what I mean as we read. This is God's Word, this is Psalm 46, the Word of the Lord. God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore, we will not fear, though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea. Verse 2. God is in the midst of her. She shall not be moved. God will help her when morning dawns, the nations rage, the kingdoms totter. He utters his voice. The earth melts. The Lord of hosts is with us. The God of Jacob is our fortress. Come behold the works of the Lord, how he has brought desolations on the earth. He makes wars cease to the end of the earth. He breaks the bow and shatters the spear. He burns the chariots with fire. Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations. I will be exalted in the earth. The Lord of hosts is with us. The God of Jacob is our fortress. This is the word of God. Let me pray. Let's ask for the spirit to come help us this morning. Let's pray together. Father, please help. It's no accident that we're here this morning. Let's pray together. Father, please help. It's no accident that we're here this morning. You have brought each person here and you have this word for us. And so speak to us through your Spirit. I say this often, but every week. In a room this size, someone listening. They are in the middle of the worst week of their life and they need you, and so would you show up, would you come through your word and give us all something that we can hang on to, stability in the midst of a world that is constantly shaking. Hear our prayers in Christ's name, amen.
Speaker 1Last weekend, texas in Texas, families really from throughout the southeast, woke up to every parent's worst nightmare. What began as a normal camp summer and experience suddenly turned into an unthinkable tragedy when flash flooding claimed the lives of 27 campers and counselors. It destroyed a city, a town. It claimed the lives of many more, and often I mean there's a tragedy every day in our world and things like this. Oftentimes there's so much of this around us that it hits me, but I'm able to quickly move on. Well, I haven't been able to move on, and I've talked to many of you and you haven't been able to move on, and I've talked to many of you and you haven't been able to move on either. Every conversation that I've been in this week, this tragedy that we've experienced in Texas somehow comes up and people are struggling with it, unable to move on. It has impacted us locally, in our city. It's impacted families in our city and maybe it stuck with me because I have all girls, I'm a father of all girls, and they love camp and they grew up going to camp, but I have not been able to shake it. They grew up going to camp but I have not been able to shake it.
Speaker 1And this isn't just this morning about what happened in Texas. It is about every moment in life that reminds you, that hits you, whatever that is for you this morning, or has been for you or will be in the future. Every moment that makes you realize how fragile life really is and how quickly everything in your life can change in an instant. And when we bump up against those moments, when those moments come and they will come we face a choice and they will come. We face a choice. We can spiral into despair and question everything we ever knew about God, or we can turn to the one who remains steady, to the one who remains true when everything else in the world is shaking.
Speaker 1You see, the truth is, when tragedy comes into our lives, it often rocks our faith, doesn't it? It shatters our sense of security and we are tempted in that moment I know I sure am. I am tempted in that moment, to lose faith in God's goodness and control. Faith in God's goodness and control and friends. That's exactly why we need this psalm this morning. That's why we need Psalm 46, because this psalm offers no quick fixes, no easy answers. It offers us something way more valuable. It offers us an unshakable God in a world that never stops shaking. Here's the question this morning when do you find hope? How do you find hope when tragedy and crisis hit you? Well, this psalm gives us a map and helps us answer that question.
Speaker 1Three things we need to recognize the world's harsh reality. Number one Secondly rest in God's presence. Lastly receive God's invitation. Recognize the world's harsh reality. Rest in God's presence, receive God's invitation. That's where we're headed. Let's take each of those in turn. Our first heading recognize the world's harsh reality.
Texas Camp Tragedy
Speaker 1These first three verses are some of the most quoted verses in the Bible, and I want you to look at your Bible and look at the imagery in these first three verses Earthquakes, mountains collapsing into the sea, roaring waters, and all of these combined together, and what the author is trying to communicate to us and we don't know what it is here, but he's trying to communicate to us the ultimate tragedy. And so think about this. Here's the picture. What, in your mind's eye, is the worst possible thing that you can imagine happening, whatever that is for you. That's what this is talking about, and notice that the psalmist doesn't rush to. It's going to be okay. The psalmist doesn't rush to. Don't worry, be happy, put on a smile.
Speaker 1The author doesn't begin with christian platitudes or trite statements. No, he enters into exactly where the people are in this moment, where the ground is moving underneath, underneath your feet. In those moments, we need something to hold on to that will not give way, and the psalmist here uses two powerful words. You can see them there in your text refuge and strength. A refuge is a place to run when you're in trouble. It is a shelter Think about a storm shelter, strength. It is the power that you need to face whatever it is that you're going through that you cannot run from. And so here you get in. Those two words covers every crisis. Sometimes, when you're in crisis or tragedy hits, you need a place to hide, a place to run, and sometimes you need the power to endure and to put one foot in front of the other, and most of the time you need both. You need a refuge and you need strength.
Speaker 1Here's a picture. It's summer, lots of people go to amusement parks. Maybe you've been to Six Flags, maybe. Whatever your amusement park of choice is, this always happens to me. I feel like I'm in my teenage years again. I ride all this stuff. I get off of a roller coaster or one of these 3D rides or whatever, and my equilibrium is off and I don't feel well and I start walking in the opposite direction that I'm supposed to. I can't get my bearings, everything feels unsteady and maybe you've had that experience. And in that moment, what do you need? You need something solid. You reach for the railing, you find a bench to hold on to. You're looking for something that does not move and will not move. That solid thing, whatever that is, is your refuge and your strength. And it's exactly what the psalmist is describing the moment where life knocks the breath out of you, where your world and your life seems like it's spinning out of control and you are unsteady and you need something that will not move, something that you can hold on to.
Speaker 1The psalmist is writing to people whose worlds have been shattered. And notice he validates their experience first. Then I think that's important Notice he validates their experience first I think that's important. Then he points them to the stable thing, the stable one that they can hold on to, and it is God. When everything else in the world breaks, god remains unbroken. When the earth is giving way, god is still our refuge. When the mountains shake, god is still our refuge. When the mountains shake, god is still our strength.
Speaker 1But let's be honest, let's speak for a second. The way we all feel in the middle of tragic moments, in those moments, in the middle of the shaking, in the ground-giving way, I don't know about you, but God doesn't feel like a very present help in trouble at all. And I can assure you that the parents of these girls who didn't come home from summer camp do not feel like God is a help in their trouble. When you're sitting in a hospital room with your child who is sick and you don't know if they're going to go home, where you're at a graveside and you're bearing someone you love, maybe even a child, or you're watching a son or daughter go through and suffer from an addiction, in those moments, honestly, god feels a million miles away, doesn't he? He doesn't feel like he's helping at all. And we say again at least I do. God, if you were watching over me, why is everything I've worked for gone? Why is the person that I love the most in this world? Why are they no longer here? God, here it is. Why didn't you stop this? And under this first point, here's what I want you to walk away with.
Speaker 1That is not a lack of faith. That's not a failure of faith. That's not a failure of faith. That is faith. That, friends, is the tension of living in a broken, fallen world. That is the normal Christian experience. It's not a sign of a weak faith. It is reality in a broken, fallen world.
Speaker 1Notice, the psalmist doesn't say pretend that the earth isn't shaking. No, he says the earth is shaking and God is your refuge and your strength. Notice, he doesn't say pretend you feel God's help. He says no, god is your help. You see, what he's doing is he's calling you to trust a reality and something that is true, even when you don't feel it and even when we don't sense it. And so, when your earth and your world starts to shake and you watch your marriage fall apart right before your eyes, or when you bury your spouse and someone you love after 50 years of marriage, or when the accident comes out of nowhere and when the floodwaters rise. You don't have to pretend that you're not afraid. You don't have to pretend that you feel God's help. You can be honest about your fear and at the same time, declare God is my refuge. You can feel abandoned and alone and still trust that you're not alone. You can be fearful and trusting at the same time. That is the thing that has stuck out to me more than anything.
Faith During Earth-Shaking Moments
Speaker 1With the Psalms and you see it everywhere we normally make it an either-or. No, it's a both, and you can say Lord, I'm scared to death. I don't understand this. And they're both true and you are with me and you will not leave me nor forsake me. The promise isn't that the earth won't give way. The promise is that when the earth gives way, god is our refuge, god is our strength, even when we don't feel it. And that leads to our second point.
Speaker 1The psalm teaches us that we must rest in God's presence. Look at verses four through seven. So he's described this earth-shaking chaos in verses 1 through 3, and then he shifts the focus to a river. And the river's not a roaring river, like we just saw, that threatened to destroy, but this is a gentle river representing the life-giving presence. It's a metaphor. There were no rivers in Jerusalem, major rivers in Jerusalem, and so this was a picture that pointed to the life-giving presence that flows into God's people and flows into God's city, the point being, when everything else around you is shaking and moving, there is a place in God's presence that remains stable. Look at verse 7. In God's presence that remains stable. Look at verse 7.
Speaker 1Notice, the Lord of hosts is with us. Not the Lord of hosts explains everything. Not the Lord of hosts answers all of our questions. Not, the Lord of hosts is with us only when we feel it. No, very simply, the Lord of hosts is with us. In other words, the promise is God's presence, not explanation. His presence isn't diminished by our inability to sense or feel it in the moment.
Speaker 1Verse 5, god is in the midst of her. He's not describing an emotional experience. He is describing and declaring a theological reality, present, tense, current reality and unchanging truth. Think about a cloudy day. On a cloudy day, you can't see the sun. But is the sun still there? Yes, the sun is still there. The clouds don't make the sun disappear. They block our view. God's presence is like the sun. It's always there. Our view, god's presence is like the sun it's always there, but sometimes the clouds in our lives and the things that we struggle and suffer with keep us from seeing and feeling the presence of God. But it is still there, and Jesus is the ultimate fulfillment of this promise.
Speaker 1Remember Jesus on the cross, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me Experiencing ultimate abandonment so that you and I, this morning, could have ultimate assurance that God will never leave us nor forsake us? Jesus experienced the absence of God so that you could be guaranteed this morning of God's presence. And so what does that mean? As we like to say here for you on, let's make it Wednesday at 2 pm. Well, it means when your world is shaking and whatever it is, God seems like a million miles away. His presence, friends, is still the most real thing in your situation, whatever it is, in the middle of all your questions, even the things that you don't understand, and it could be the worst possible thing that happens, the reality is that the Lord of hosts is with you.
Speaker 1And this is not about pretending. No, this is about learning to distinguish between what we feel and what is true. This isn't about escaping reality. It is about finding a different reality. You see, your feelings please hear this they're real and they are valid. They're just not the deepest reality. The deepest reality is that God is in the midst of her, and so you know what that means.
Speaker 1It means that when you can't sense God's presence or feel it, declare it anyway. When you don't understand and you can't feel his help, trust it anyway. When you don't understand and you can't feel his help, trust it anyway Again. That's what faith looks like. Faith is God's. I don't get this, I don't understand this, but I know that you are here, that you have not left me, because your word tells me I believe. Help my unbelief. Remember Jesus loves me. This I know how, for the Bible tells me. So Go back to the word and to the truth of who God is, in his character. And here's the grace, god's grace to us. When you can't feel his presence personally, you can experience it through his people. When you can't feel his presence, god gives us this. He gives us the church. When our faith is fragile, weak, we can barely stand. He gives us the people of God to come around us and to hold us up and to carry us.
God's Presence When We Can't Feel It
Speaker 1Richard Pratt, one of my professors in seminary. Maybe you've heard me say this before. I'll never forget the time he stood up. I didn't understand it at the time, but after I've lived more life I completely understand it. But he stood up in front of seminary students and said I go to church every week so that I can believe for another week. That is why this is so important. That's why the church is so important. That is why community is so important. That's why grace groups are so important. That's why we don't just want you to sit on the sidelines. We want you to be involved in the life of our church Because, honestly, I'm not sure you make it without the church, make it in this life, with all of the heartache and all of the pain, without the body of Christ. We need people to come around us and declare God's presence. When we can't sense it for ourselves, when we can't sense it for ourselves, when everything around you is shaking, there is one thing constant Emmanuel, god with us. That's not just a nice statement, that is a bedrock truth that you've got to hold on to when everything else gives way around you.
Speaker 1Lastly, let's look at the invitation. Quickly Receive God's invitation. Look at verses 8 through 10. Be still here's the invitation and know that I am God. This isn't about physical stillness and doing nothing. No, this is about active trust.
Speaker 1What does this mean? What does it actually look like? Well, it means that we pray and we stop the endless what-if scenarios and instead we get on our knees and we pray. God, help us, god, I need you. I don't feel like you're here, but you tell me you're here. Give me eyes to see and to believe that.
Speaker 1It means that, instead of spiraling into worry, we choose to pray. It means that we take our questions to God rather than letting our questions drive us away from God. Being still often it's so hard, isn't it in the midst of tragedy, to be still and know that he is God, when everything's falling apart? Being still is an invitation to go to God and say God, I don't have this, you've got this. Please carry what I cannot. Being still and knowing that he is God is an invitation for us to open up our hands and release our grip on the unanswerable questions that we face in the middle of tragedy Doesn't mean we stop asking questions. No, it just simply means we hold them with open hands instead of clenched fists.
Speaker 1God can handle our questions. He's been handling our questions since the beginning of time and handling them since the days of Job. He can handle our questions. The questions they are legitimate. Yes, they're not ultimate. What is ultimate is not our understanding everything and having all the answers to our questions. What is ultimate is God's character and who he is.
Speaker 1Remember the garden of Gethsemane. Jesus is crying out. He doesn't get it. He's like I don't know about this. Take this cup from me. And then he says not, not my will, but yours be done. He didn't understand everything ahead of him. He didn't like the path. He trusted the Father's heart when he could not trace his hands. Think about the cross. It looked like the ultimate victory for darkness, but instead God used it and in the darkest moments of human history he worked to bring salvation to the world.
Speaker 1Can we talk? I know, as your pastor, you might expect me to have all the philosophical and theological answers for human suffering. I do not and I hope that doesn't disappoint you. I have wrestled this week with this thing that happened and the flooding in Texas. I have wrestled and I have said God, you say you're good, but I don't get this at all. This doesn't make sense to me.
The Invitation to Be Still
Speaker 1And then I read verse 11. The God of Jacob is my fortress. Thank goodness for that little phrase in this passage, because you remember who Jacob is. I mean, think about this. Of all the patriarchs God identifies with here, of all the patriarchs God identifies with here, he identifies with the scoundrel and a wrestler and a deceiver and a schemer. That's who God identifies with, and that is God's way of saying I am a God for people who are in the middle of the mess, who have lots of questions and who are wrestling. And so when you struggle with how a good God can allow this tragedy, friends, you are not disqualifying yourself from His refuge. You are exactly who the refuge is designed for, because you see the God who stayed with Jacob through his deception and through his fear and through his sin and through his unbelief and through his honest questions, the God that stayed with Jacob and identified with Jacob, is the same God who stays with you and stays with me in the middle of my wrestling and doubts and fears, and whatever it is, that's the gospel. That's why it's such good news.
Speaker 1Last weekend, 27 families in Texas woke up to their worst nightmare. The harsh realities of the world, hit them square right between the eyes and left those parents asking the same questions that we ask when our world falls apart. Where are you, god and God? How do we move forward? How do we even go on when everything feels so broken? And in those devastating moments when your world is shaking, friends, you don't have to feel unshakable, you don't have to feel strong. The God of Jacob is your fortress. Rest in God's presence. The Lord of hosts is with us, even when we don't feel it.
Speaker 1Receive the invitation, be still and know that I am God. And you might say that you can't be still. And when you can't be still, let us hold you, let the church hold you. Let us hold you, let the church hold you up and help you. When you find it hard to trust, remind yourself of the truth of Scripture.
Speaker 1When you find it hard to trust, let God's character be your anchor. The earth gives way, the mountains are shaking and quaking, the rivers are roaring. God is your refuge, he is our strength, he is our very present help in times of trouble. Let's pray In times of trouble. Let's pray. Father, this is hard, hard stuff. Thank you that you are solid ground for us in the middle of a very unstable, shaking world around us and even our own lives. Forgive us for running to so many things for shelter when our world gives way. And, holy Spirit, would you give us faith to believe that you are with us, that you are at work, even when it doesn't seem like it. Help us, and when the world around us and our lives give way, help us to believe, to be still, to open up our hands and believe that you are God. We ask these things in Christ's name, amen.