Unshakable Foundation | Psalm 46:1-11
Today we’re continuing our teaching series on a book of the bible called Psalms. It’s a series about giving us melodies of encouragement for everyday life, and the specific Psalm we’re studying today is about our unshakable God. It’s about finding refuge and strength in our unshakable God, as we live in a shakable world. The reality is we’re often building our lives on shakable foundations. For example, your career can be shaken. Your finances and stocks can be shaken. Your health and relationships can be shaken. Even the ground you walk on can be shaken because of the world’s shifting tectonic plates. But it usually takes something like a job loss, a breakup, a diagnosis, a death, a pandemic, or something catastrophic to wake us up to this reality. To wake us up to the reality that we’re building our lives on shakable foundations.
If you’re a seasoned Christian or just exploring the faith, our common ground is that we’re living in a shakable world, and we’re often building our lives on shakable foundations. So the question isn't will your life be shaken; it’s what can you turn to when your life is shaken?...What can you turn to that can be an unshakable foundation?...Today’s psalm teaches us that the only unshakable foundation is God. It doesn’t promise an unshakable life; it promises an unshakable God who can be your refuge and strength when everything is being shaken. Let’s turn to Psalm 46 and get into it. You can find Psalms in the middle of the bible, we’ll be in Psalm 46:1-11, and the title of the message is Unshakable Foundation. The big idea of the message is God is our unshakable foundation in a shakable world...God is our unshakable foundation in a shakable world.
Here’s your context. Psalm 46 was written by Levitical worship leaders called The Sons of Korah, and they wrote this psalm to remind Jews living in Judah to turn to God as their unshakable foundation. Why? Most scholars agree it’s because Judah was about to be attacked by a massive Assyrian army. The Assyrians were a brutal, war-hungry nation that tortured not only men, but also women and children. So they put a lot of fear in people, including the people living in Judah. In Isaiah Ch. 36 we learn the Assyrian King sent King Hezekiah and the people in Judah a message telling them God won’t be able to save them, because there’s never been a god that’s been able to stop the Assyrian army. King Hezekiah knew this was true, so he did the only thing he could do, which was to pray, and that night the Lord struck down 185,000 Assyrian soldiers. Most scholars agree that Psalm 46 was written in response to that victory. It was written to remind them and us, that we need to turn to God as our unshakable foundation in a shakable world. Let’s check it out.
Psalm 46:1-11 states, “God is our refuge and strength, a helper who is always found in times of trouble. 2 Therefore we will not be afraid, though the earth trembles and the mountains topple into the depths of the seas, 3 though its water roars and foams, and the mountains quake with its turmoil.” Notice the psalmist says God is our refuge and strength. A refuge is a place you can run to for safety. In ancient civilizations, they’d run to a thick-walled fortress for safety when being attacked by someone like the Assyrian army. But the psalmist is saying that the Assyrians would have destroyed their man-made refuge, so they had to find their ultimate refuge and strength in God. He doesn’t say they found their refuge and strength in their man-made refuge; he says they found it in God. He also doesn’t say God will keep us out of trouble; he says God is a helper in our trouble. This is important because many people believe in something that God never promised. They believe if they put their faith in God, then they shouldn’t face any more troubles in life, and what happens when the troubles come? It doesn’t just shake their life; it shakes their faith! It’s because they believed in something that God never promised. God never promised he’ll keep us out of troubles; he promises to be a helper in our troubles. If you put your faith in him and turn to him in your troubles, then he’ll be your refuge and strength, a helperwhen you’re facing troubles.
In vs. 2-3 when the psalmist talks about the mountains toppling and quaking, he’s talking about stable things suddenly collapsing and falling apart. The Hebrew word for quaking can also be translated as shaking, like an earthquake shaking the very ground we’re walking on. He’s saying even if the mountains collapse, the ground shakes, the entire world starts falling apart, we can still turn to God for help. We can still turn to God as our refuge and strength. We can still turn to God as our unshakable foundation in a shakable world. If you do that, if you turn to God in your troubles, he’ll start working behind the scenes in ways you can’t always see or fully comprehend. In the words of John Piper, “God is always doing 10,000 things in your life, and you may only be aware of three of them.” God is always doing 10,000 things in your life, even when you can’t always see or fully comprehend it. So the question isn’t: Is God doing something in your life? It’s will you trust God even when you can’t see or fully comprehend what he’s doing in your life?... When the troubles come, the mountains collapse, the ground shakes, your life starts falling apart, what unshakable foundation will you turn to for help?...The psalmist is saying you need to trust God and turn to him for help, because he’s the only unshakable foundation in a shakable world.
Vs. 4, “There’s a river—its streams delight the city of God, the holy dwelling place of the Most High. 5 God is within her; she will not be toppled. God will help her when the morning dawns. 6 Nations rage, kingdoms topple; the earth melts when he lifts his voice. 7 The Lord of Armies is with us; the God of Jacob is our stronghold.” Notice the sudden shift from mountains collapsing and quaking, to a calming river with streams that bring God’s people delight. What’s interesting is there aren’t any major rivers in the location the psalmist is talking about. So what's he talking about? He’s talking about the calming delight of God’s presence. In vs. 5 and 7 he says God’s people are filled with delight because God is with them. Even as nations are raging against them, they’re calm and filled with delight because God is with them. The world’s delight is like a bubble floating on the surface of the river. When it’s shaken, it pops! But God’s delight isn’t the bubble; it’s the entire river! It keeps flowing in your life as long as you keep jumping in to seek his presence. The problem is we stop seeking God, start seeking delight in other things, and our souls get restless because those other things are shakable foundations. They’re bubbles that eventually pop! In the words of Corrie ten Boom, “If you look at the world, you'll be distressed. If you look within, you'll be depressed. If you look at God, you'll be at rest.”City Awakening the rest and delight your soul is seeking won’t come by looking at the world or by looking within. It’ll come by looking at God and soaking in the river of his presence. It’ll come by trusting him as your refuge and strength. It’ll come when you trust God is your unshakable foundation in a shakable world.
Vs. 8, “Come, see the works of the Lord, who brings devastation on the earth. 9 He makes wars cease throughout the earth. He shatters bows and cuts spears to pieces; he sets wagons ablaze.” The psalmist is inviting the people in Judah to see the works of the Lord. He’s inviting them specifically to see the works God did when he defeated the Assyrian army. He’s inviting them to look over their man-made walls to see all the broken bows, spears, wagons, and the 185,000 dead Assyrian soldiers. He’s inviting them to see those things as a reminder to trust that God is greater than their greatest troubles. But it’s also an invitation for us to see the works of the Lord! That’s what we’re being invited to do when we read the Bible. Every time we read the Bible, we’re being invited to see how incredible God is and the incredible things he’s done throughout history. All those incredible things are a reminder to trust he’s greater than our greatest troubles.
At my last church we used to say when life cuts, we want to bleed scripture. We want to bleed the truth of God’s word, so we can trust God and rely on his promises before trusting and relying on anything else. Whatever you turn to first when life cuts, is what you’re trusting and relying on the most...Whatever you turn to first when life cuts, is what you’re trusting and relying on the most...What are those things for you?...What are those things you’re turning to when life cuts?...Whatever those things are, they’re all shakable except for God. They can all be very good things for your life, but they have to become secondary things in your life because they’re all shakable except for God. God has to be the primary one you turn to when life cuts, because he’s the only unshakable foundation in a shakable world. Every time we read the Bible, it’s a reminder to see all the incredible things God has done, and trust that he’s greater than our greatest troubles. It’s a reminder for us to not worry, because he’s our unshakable foundation in a shakable world.
Vs. 10, “‘Stop fighting, and know that I am God, exalted among the nations, exalted on the earth.’ 11 The Lord of Armies is with us; the God of Jacob is our stronghold.” That phrase stop fighting, can also be translated as be still. That’s the translation most Christians are more familiar with. It’s to “Be still and know that I am God.” We’re supposed to read vs. 10 as if it’s God who’s speaking, and he’s telling the nations to be still, to stop fighting against him, because it’s a fight they can’t win since he’s God. But he’s also telling the people in Judah and us to be still, to stop fighting to control every outcome in our lives, because that’s a fight we can’t win since we aren’t God. We can try to control the outcome of our lives all we want, but we can’t since we aren’t God. So the only thing we can do is trust God, since he’s the only one who has the power to control the outcome. All we can do is trust that God is still in control, even when it feels like our lives are shaking and spiraling out of control. All we can do is be still and know that he is God...In fact the Hebrew word for be still, means to stop or let go of something. To let go of what? Control...It means to be still, to stop fighting, to let go of control, and trust God...
Now I know that’s easier said than done, because we’re control freaks. We don’t like to think of ourselves as control freaks, but we are. We like to be in control of our lives, which is why we struggle so much with being still. We can’t be still when we’re so anxious over trying to control all the outcomes. The only way to truly be still, the only way to calm our anxious souls, is to let go of control and trust God with the outcomes. It’s a choice we have to make, and it’s a choice we often make with other people more than God. We often trust our lives in the hands of other people more than we trust our lives in the hands of God. I mean if you’re willing to trust a pilot with your life on an airplane, without knowing who the pilot is. If you’re willing to trust a captain with your life on a cruise ship, without knowing who the captain is. If you’re willing to trust an Uber driver with your life on a car ride, without knowing who the Uber driver is. Then why aren’t you willing to trust God with your life, knowing he’s far greater than the pilot, captain, and Uber driver?...Why aren’t you willing to trust God with your life, just like you’re willing to trust them with your life?... If you’re willing to trust them with your life, then be willing to trust God with your life. Admit you can’t control everything, and be still, stop fighting, let go of control, trusting that he...is...God...
The big idea of the message is that God is our unshakable foundation in a shakable world... God is our unshakable foundation in a shakable world…Like I said in the intro, the question isn't will your life be shaken; it’s what can you turn to when your life is shaken?...What can you turn to that can be an unshakable foundation?...Psalm 46 teaches us the only unshakable foundation is God. It doesn’t promise an unshakable life; it promises an unshakable God, and that unshakable God is Jesus. He’s the unshakable God of Psalm 46. Jesus became our refuge and strength when he died for our sins on the cross, saving us from the eternal hell we deserve because of our sins. The gospel writers tell us that when Jesus died on the cross, the ground began to shake, and the Romans who crucified him became terrified. Then three days later Jesus rose from the dead; he defeated death; he defeated the one thing that shatters everything! Death is the one thing that puts a period, a hard stop to everything we’re doing in life. But when Jesus rose from the dead he turned that period into a comma, a short pause, giving us eternal hope and joy beyond death! He’s the unshakable God of Psalm 46. He’s our refuge, our strength, our very present help in trouble! He’s the only unshakable foundation in our shakable world, and his resurrection proved it!
If you're a skeptic or someone who’s exploring the faith, you need to think about your life and the foundations you’re building your life on. Is it your career, your finances, your health, a relationship?...What are the foundations you’re building your life on?...Every single one of the foundations you’re building your life on is a shakable foundation, and you know it. A time is coming when those foundations will shake, they’ll break, and you’ll break with them. You need to put your faith in Jesus, because he’s the only unshakable foundation that can help stabilize your life and save your soul...If you’re a Christian, then you already have Jesus as your unshakable foundation. But have you been building your life on him as your greatest foundation, or has something else taken his place?...Have you been building your life on other foundations?...If your life is being shaken, it’s a clue you’ve been building your life on other foundations instead of Christ. Psalm 46 is a reminder that Christ is the only firm foundation that’ll never be shaken. It’s a reminder to put your faith in him as the only unshakable foundation in our shakable world. So put your faith in Jesus today. Be still, stop fighting, let go of control, trusting that he...is...God...