Be Still and Know – Psalm 46 Part 3 1/17/16

Be Still and Know that I AM God.

Psalm 46  Title part 3.2

Psalm 46

 

Over the last two weeks we have looked at this Psalm and seen that we are commanded not to fear, and we are challenged to be still before God. But there is a bigger question that we need to be asking, why? Why should we not be afraid? Why should we be still? What is the motivation? Looking again at verse 10; “Be still and know that I AM God.”

If we don’t know God, we have no reason to be still before him. If we don’t know God we can try as much as we like not to fear, we will always live in fear. Without the knowledge of God, life is a futile treadmill of fear and uncertainty.

Some of you may be asking; can we know God? Can we really know God? After all he is Spirit and we are limited by our flesh. He is so awesome, indescribable, all powerful, and all holy. The answer is simply yes, He is knowable. Our God is all of these attributes and much much more, but he is also knowable and approachable.

In Jesus, God became flesh and lived with us. Jesus came to die for your sins and mine, Jesus came to overcome death and conquer sin forever, he came to restore our relationship with God, providing for us a way to be able to pray directly to the Father and show us who the Father is. (See Colossians 1:15 & Hebrews 1:3)

As we look at Psalm 46, we see four attributes of God;

The first attribute we see is found in verse 4; “4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells.” Water is essential for life, every living thing needs water, and throughout the Bible, rivers are depicted as a blessing of God’s provision.

So the first attribute of God that we can know, is that he is our provider. There is nothing that we have that we did not get from God. He created all things, all things belong to him we are blessed by his daily provision. Jesus spent a lot of time in teaching his disciples about the provision of God, In Matthew 6, Jesus tells his disciples not to worry about food and clothing, and that our Heavenly Father knows what we need and He will provide.

The next attribute of God that we find referenced in this Psalm is found in verse 5 which reads; “God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day.” And verse one reads; “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.” Not only is God our help in times of trouble, but we need to rely on God at all times to help us. When God calls on us to do something, he doesn’t give us the instructions and then sit back and see if we are able to do what he is calling us to do, He promises to be our helper (see Psalm 20:7).

God doesn’t call you to do something because of your own natural ability.

God may tell you to stand up against injustice, such as abortion or child trafficking, or He may tell you to stop taking drugs, smoking, or an addiction to pornography, God knows you cannot do this in your own strength, but He can help you overcome any challenge (see 2 Corinthians 12:9). God is looking for people who trust him, who rely on him. What is God asking you to do today that seems impossible?

Thirdly we see another attribute of God in verse 7 and verse 11; “The LORD Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress”. God is always with us, and he knows exactly what is going on in our lives. God knows what you are going through in your most private times, when the fears of the world seem to come crashing down on you. But notice this, not only is God with us, but the Psalmist reminds us that the Lord Almighty is with us (see 1 John 4:4). If you truly know Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and savior, you have the Holy Spirit residing in you. You have the presence of God with you all the time. Sometimes you may feel alone, but that is where faith steps up and you declare the promises of God. Remember God promises to be with you, he is faithful to that promise. Your feelings must not govern your relationship with God. He calls us to live by faith.

The final attribute of God we see is portrayed in verse 8, which starts with the statement; “Come and see what the LORD has done”. Again we have the picture we have of a soldier on the walls of Jerusalem calling all the people to come and see the destruction that the angel of the Lord had done to the Assyrian Army. 185000 enemy soldiers killed. We see a picture of a God who is able. The Lord God almighty is able to get the job done, he is not weak, but swiftly acts on behalf of his people.

There is absolutely nothing that God calls you to do, that He is not able to accomplish through you.

God cannot use us if we come to him with our credentials, and present them to him as if he will find that he needs us.

God blesses us by calling us to be his vehicles to bless those around us.

Remember the hopeless situation that Hezekiah faced, the next day he would be killed by King Sennacherib. But he went into the temple, laid the letter from Sennacherib before the Lord, he laid the problem before the throne of God and asked God to move on his behalf. Why? Because he knew that God was able.

What is it that you are facing? What is the letter that you have from the enemy, asking you to surrender to fear and stop moving forward? God wants to use that letter from the enemy as a testimony to His Glory.