Brent Pollard
In our earlier reflection on Psalm 46, we faced a challenging truth: the mountains will quiver, the oceans will roar, and the earth’s very foundations will shake. Nonetheless, amid this universal turmoil, God stays our steadfast refuge. We learned that He comes close during storms rather than in moments of peace, and that what we need most isn’t answers but His presence.
But God provides more than just survival; He not only shelters us from the storm but also sustains us through it. The psalm’s imagery transitions from chaotic turbulence to peaceful abundance, highlighting a deep truth about God’s presence with His people.
The River That Satisfies: God’s Presence as Our True Resource
“There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the Most High. God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved.”
The imagery transitions from chaos to serenity, moving from turbulent seas to a peaceful river. This creates a beautiful paradox in the psalm because Jerusalem, unlike Babylon or Egypt, lacked a natural river. Water was scarce, precious, and meticulously collected from cisterns and springs. In Hezekiah’s time, an ingenious tunnel channeled water from the Gihon Spring into the city, serving as a crucial lifeline during the siege.
Yet the psalmist mentions a river that brings joy to the city. It’s not just safe—it’s joyful. Not just protected—but filled with happiness. This is more than simple water. It represents God’s life-giving presence.
As suggested, God is most glorified in us when we find our greatest satisfaction in Him. The river in Psalm 46 symbolizes delight, not utility. Though enemy nations rage like floodwaters threatening to overwhelm, God resides among His people as a calm, sustaining stream of peace. He is both our source of satisfaction and our security.
Jesus later identified Himself as the source of this river: “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water” (John 7.37-38). The promise isn’t that life will be trouble-free, but that God offers sustenance beyond circumstances during difficult times.
This assurance is highly practical. God’s presence isn’t just an abstract theological idea; it changes how we approach Monday mornings. Knowing God is with us turns panic into peace. Recognizing that He is our source, we cease striving to create our own limited water sources, like cisterns that contain no water (Jeremiah 2.13).
However, Jerusalem’s security was never reliant on its religious infrastructure. The temple alone did not guarantee safety for a rebellious people. The city’s walls offered no protection if hearts were distant from God. It was repentance and prayer, not military tactics, that saved Jerusalem from Assyria’s formidable army. Hezekiah presented Sennacherib’s threatening letter before the Lord and called for deliverance, emphasizing God’s glory over Israel’s safety (2 Kings 19.14-19).
And God responded. At dawn, 185,000 Assyrian soldiers were dead, slain by the Lord’s angel. The enemy retreated without a single arrow being fired from Jerusalem’s defenses. God simply declared, and kingdoms fell.
The Call to Stillness: Surrender as the Path to Strength
“Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”
This passage is among Scripture’s most quoted—and often misunderstood—verses. We tend to see it as a calming meditation or a spiritual breath of relief. However, in its original context, it carries a much more challenging message.
The Hebrew phrase literally translates to: “Let go. Cease striving. Stop.” It serves as a divine directive to relinquish our need for control, abandon our frantic attempts to manage outcomes, and surrender the illusion of self-sufficiency.
Modern Christianity often portrays God as a helpful guide for our personal plans. We prefer His blessing on our initiatives instead of surrendering to His greater purposes. We tend to use God rather than worship Him. However, Psalm 46 dispels this arrogance. God will be exalted, regardless of our involvement. The real question is whether we will align with His divine plan or waste our energy resisting it.
“Be still” does not mean passive resignation. Instead, it signifies active trust—opting for dependence rather than independence, faith rather than fear, worship over worry. For fallen humanity, this is the hardest act because it demands that we admit we are not God.
Consider Hezekiah’s prayer again: “Now therefore, O Lord our God, save us from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You are the Lord God, even You only” (2 Kings 19.19, KJV). Notice the ultimate concern—not Israel’s comfort, but God’s glory. Not merely deliverance, but a demonstration of divine supremacy.
Remember that humility is not thinking less of yourself; it is thinking of yourself less. Being still means shifting our focus from our troubles to God’s nature, from our frailty to His strength, and from our fears to His unwavering faithfulness.
The psalm concludes by calling God “the God of Jacob,” which should fill us with great hope. Jacob was a cunning and manipulative man, often trying to control events through his own cleverness. Despite this, God stayed faithful to him, changed him, and made him a patriarch. We often act similarly—rushing ahead of God’s timing, trying to grasp what to trust, and strategizing instead of surrendering.
And yet—wonder of wonders—God remains our refuge.
Living in the Fortress
Psalm 46 does not guarantee that mountains won’t shake in our lives if we have enough faith. Instead, it reassures us that God stays unshaken when those shakes happen—and they will. He allows us to face difficult situations, not to harm us, but to show Himself more clearly and to strengthen our faith.
The world takes pride in its chariots, horses, stock portfolios, military strength, technological achievements, and political influence. However, Scripture teaches us that “some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the Lord our God” (Psalm 20.7). Ultimately, there will be a day when “the Lord alone shall be exalted” (Isaiah 2.11).
Until then, our lives exist between the “already” and the “not yet.” We feel God’s presence as both a fortress and a river—offering protection in times of danger and fulfillment in seasons of dryness. We recognize His strength even as we admit our weakness. Peace comes not from having control over circumstances but from knowing Who is truly in control.
When the earth shakes…
When nations rage…
When fear rises within us…
God remains our refuge.
God remains our strength.
God remains Immanuel—with us.
And because He is, we can—we must—be still.
In that stillness, we find what frantic activity can never achieve: the actual value of knowing God personally. It’s not just about learning about Him but experiencing Him intimately through dependence, feeling secure in His presence, and delighting in His flowing grace, even during the driest seasons of our lives.
This is not escapism; it is the most practical wisdom for humans. We were created for God, and our hearts stay restless until they find rest in Him.
The fortress remains, the river continues to flow, and God beckons us to come in.
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