Life gets discouraging sometimes. Trials can be weighty, delays frustrating, people draining, and sicknesses devastating. As M. Scott Peck put it, “Life is difficult.”

When life gets difficult, Christians often turn to Psalms. This biblical book has more tear-stained pages than any other. Jesus himself referenced Psalms during His betrayal (John 13:18; cf. Psalm 41:9) and crucifixion (Mark 15:34; cf. Psalm 22:1).

John Calvin called Psalms “an anatomy of all the parts of the soul.” Calvin said, “There is not an emotion of which any one can be conscious that is not here represented as in a mirror.”

Psalms describes human feelings accurately enough to remind us we are not the first to experience hurt.

Yet we also find hope. The Book of Psalms offers a safe harbor for the storm-tossed, comfort for the grieving, friendship for the lonely, strength for the weak, clarity for the uncertain, wisdom for the knowledge seeker, and perspective for the perplexed.

We find help in Psalms. More precisely, we experience God, whom Psalm 46:1 describes as “our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.”

Safe Place

Refuge is shelter or protection. As The Message paraphrases Psalm 46:1, “God is a safe place to hide.”

This isn’t the only biblical text describing God in such terms. Deuteronomy 33:27 says, “The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms.” Psalmists further refer to the Lord as “my rock, in whom I take refuge” (18:2) and “my refuge and my fortress” (91:2).

Psalm 46 addresses the believing community, affirming God as our refuge. But these other verses address the individual believer, affirming God as my refuge. Individually and collectively, we can think of God as a safe place.

This doesn’t mean believers are immune from difficulties. Psalm 46 mentions natural disasters (verses 2–3), political revolutions (verse 6), and international wars (verse 9). Other psalms expand on the list of physical, emotional, and spiritual challenges God’s people encounter.

Although faith does not exempt us from problems, Psalm 46 acknowledges God’s presence in the midst of trouble (verse 7) and offers assurance that struggles will end (verse 9).

We often hear that God has a wonderful plan for our lives. That is certainly true from an eternal perspective, but life doesn’t always feel wonderful right now.

Persecution isn’t wonderful. Cancer isn’t wonderful. Death and tragedy aren’t wonderful. There are many stories in Scripture and Church history of believers who experienced things that were less than wonderful.

But in the midst of them, God has always been a safe place to hide. Martin Luther certainly found this to be true. He wrote “A Mighty Fortress” as a Christian interpretation of Psalm 46:

A mighty fortress is our God,
          a Bulwark never failing;
our Helper He, amid the flood
          of mortal ills prevailing.

However big our “mortal ills,” God is always bigger.

Divine Strength

Strength is the second word Psalm 46:1 uses to describe God.

As believers, we have more strength than we realize. But this strength doesn’t come from us. It comes from God. We need His strength because we are weak.

Although faith does
not exempt us from problems, Psalm 46 acknowledges God’s presence in the midst
of trouble and offers assurance that struggles will end.

People often think of weakness as an affliction they can rise above through their own effort. However, weakness is part of the fallen human condition. As darkness is the absence of light and silence the absence of sound, so weakness is the absence of strength.

Human weakness is apparent in many ways. For example, there’s physical weakness, mental weakness, and weakness in resolve. The most debilitating weakness is spiritual, resulting from the absence of a vital relationship with God.

Thankfully, God provides all the strength we need. Ephesians 6:10 says, “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.” Or as the Phillips translation puts it, “Be strong — not in yourselves but in the Lord, in the power of his boundless resource.”

Knowing the verse opens Paul’s famous passage on spiritual warfare, you might assume this strength is for fighting. Paul is using a military metaphor, after all. Interestingly, however, Paul’s next words are about standing: “Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes” (verse 11).

In fact, Paul goes on to emphasize standing three more times in verses 13–14. Jesus, who has already won the battle, gives us strength to stand firm in His victory.

As Luther put it so well:

Did we in our own strength confide,
   our striving would be losing,
were not the right Man on our side,
   the Man of God’s own choosing.

Ever-Present Help

Finally, Psalm 46:1 describes God as an “ever-present help.”

When leaders in ancient times expected a siege from an invading army, they shored up supplies of food and water.

Hezekiah did this for Jerusalem during the eighth century B.C. when the Assyrians invaded Israel and Judah. He redirected the spring of Gihon, Jerusalem’s water source, enclosing it within the city walls (2 Chronicles 32:30). This ensured a protected supply of water.

Psalm 46:4–5 uses the image of a consistent water supply as a metaphor of God’s presence:

There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
          the holy place where the Most High dwells.
God is within her, she will not fall;
          God will help her at break of day.

In the Gospel of John, Jesus promised to provide living water through the Holy Spirit (4:10; 7:37–38). When we feel besieged by the enemy and experience trouble all around, God sends the Holy Spirit to refresh and revive us. This is a tremendous encouragement to believers.

Omnipresence is one of God’s attributes. He is present everywhere and therefore always near. God never has to travel distances to help you because He’s already there and already working.

So, when it feels like there are delays in the fulfillment of God’s promises, remember Abraham, who against all odds held onto hope.

During setbacks, remember Joseph, whom God promoted from the pit to the palace.

If you experience depression, remember Elijah, who experienced supernatural care and provision.

When you face unexpected trials, remember Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, for there’s a Fourth Man in the fire with you.

And when unanswered prayers challenge your faith, remember Job, who discovered God never left his side.

To quote Luther’s hymn again, God is truly “our Helper … amid the flood of mortal ills prevailing.”

All We Need

We don’t know the exact circumstances behind the composition of Psalm 46, but the authors clearly wrote with trouble in mind. This psalm provides a crisis-ready vision of God, whatever the source of the trouble we encounter.

God is eternally safe, infinitely strong, and attentively present. He is our Refuge, Strength, and Helper. Believing in Him doesn’t keep us from crises, but it sustains us in and through them.

Do we really need more than that?

This article appears in the Summer 2024 issue of Influence magazine.