Focus
Stop and thank God for being present with you today. Ask for God’s guidance as you hear God’s voice through scripture and the writer.
Read
Psalm 46
To the leader. Of the Korahites. According to Alamoth. A Song.
1 God is our refuge and strength,
a very present help in trouble.
2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change,
though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea;
3 though its waters roar and foam,
though the mountains tremble with its tumult.Selah
4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
the holy habitation of the Most High.
5 God is in the midst of the city; it shall not be moved;
God will help it when the morning dawns.
6 The nations are in an uproar, the kingdoms totter;
he utters his voice, the earth melts.
7 The Lord of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our refuge.Selah
8 Come, behold the works of the Lord;
see what desolations he has brought on the earth.
9 He makes wars cease to the end of the earth;
he breaks the bow, and shatters the spear;
he burns the shields with fire.
10 “Be still, and know that I am God!
I am exalted among the nations,
I am exalted in the earth.”
11 The Lord of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our refuge.Selah
Reflect
In our world, it’s hard to “be still and know that the Lord is God.” There are wars, riots, pandemics, gang violence, human and drug trafficking, and every other sign the culture has turned inward on itself. How can we be still? Surely, any minute the world is going come crashing in on us sweep us away in its tidal wave of violence and chaos.
The psalmist, however, gives us a different picture. He gives a picture of God Himself breaking the weapons of warfare bringing peace through His presence. If you’re an avid reader of the prophets and this picture sounds familiar to you that’s because it is. Isaiah 2 communicates to us a vision that God gives to the prophet of day when the people beat their swords into plowshares because there’s no longer a need for war.
As we live in the harsh reality of a world that rejects this God who will one day bring peace, let us live as people who have already obtained this peace in Jesus Christ, our Prince of Peace.
Pray
Glorious God, Your thoughts and ways are higher than our thoughts and ways. Even though there’s chaos in destruction in the world, let us be a people of peace. We ask this in the name of Your Son, Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever. Amen.
Go with God!