“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” (Psalm 46:1 NASB)
Paul opens his second letter to the church at Corinth with words of comfort and encouragement for what they were going through. I’m sure that was a welcome greeting to those believers, as we can all relate to times of trial and suffering, times that take every bit of strength we have just to keep going.
But Paul offers more than just encouragement and understanding. He identifies with their pain. “For we do not want you to be unaware, brethren, of our affliction which came to us in Asia, that we were burdened excessively, beyond our strength, so that we despaired even of life,” (2 Cor. 1:8).
In a later chapter of this same letter (2 Cor. 12:7-8), Paul tells them about something else in his own life that was so difficult, in fact, that it drove him to beg God for rescue on three separate occasions.
The particulars of Paul’s troubles in either of these instances are not shared. But considering the level of hardship and difficulty Paul was accustomed to (2 Cor. 11:23-29), you have to surmise the burdens he’s referencing, by his response to them, must have truly been nearly unbearable.
God brings us to such times in life for several reasons. His ultimate reason is to sanctify (purify) us, to make us more holy and Christ-like, and to demonstrate to those around us that God is at work in our life to bring about an outcome far beyond our own capabilities or strength. In other words, He wants others to see God in us, that both we – and they – glorify Him in response.
In both of Paul’s experiences he makes it clear that he ran out of strength. He “despaired of life” in the first, and he begged God three separate times to take away whatever was causing his pain in the second.
Both times God heard Paul’s cries for help. The first time God delivered him from the situation, and the second time He provided the strength and the grace to accept the situation. In both cases Paul’s faith was strengthened and God received the glory.
Paul describes what happened in 2 Corinthians 1 in this way: “… we had the sentence of death within ourselves so that we would not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead; who delivered us from so great a peril of death, and will deliver us, He on whom we have set our hope. And He will yet deliver us,” (2 Cor. 1:9-10). In essence, Paul is telling these believers – and us – that God takes us into situations we can’t handle so we learn to trust in His strength to get us through it. And not just for that present situation, but everything we will face going forward. Because God is in the process of building our faith – if we know He has delivered us, then we can believe that “He will yet deliver us.”
In Paul’s second experience it is clear the resultant outcome was that God was glorified. When Paul begs for relief, God responded: “My grace is sufficient for you, for [My] power is perfected in [your] weakness.”
Paul gained not only strength from the Lord to deal with this burden, he also gained grace from God to come to terms with it. Because God is the “Father of mercies, and God of all comfort,” (2 Cor. 1:3), he adds “Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me,” (2 Cor. 12:9).
When met with life’s difficulties, it’s natural to ask God for deliverance. But it is our responsibility as His child to receive His answer in a spirit of obedience to His divine will and humble ourselves before His mighty hand (1 Peter 5:6). The famous doctor the church, Robert Leighton, said of being humble, “This is pressed by a reason both of equity and necessity, in that Scripture which says we are to be humble under the mighty hand of God. He is Sovereign Lord of all, and all things must show obedience to Him; therefore, it is just, that you His people, professing loyalty and obedience to Him, be most submissive and humble in your subjection to Him in all things.”
Even if we never understand why God does what He does, we have no right to question His doing because He is God, and we are not (Job 33:13). “Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, why hast thou made me thus?” (Rom. 9:20-21).
So when you find yourself in circumstances that take every ounce of strength you have – maybe to the point where you despair of life itself – trust your God. He is the “Father of mercies” and “God of all comfort.” You can depend on His strength to continue on, and not just in those times of despair, but every day, every moment of every day… because He is our refuge and strength!
- O Gracious God and merciful Father, You are my refuge and strength (Ps. 46:1) and my very present help in trouble. Lift up the light of Your favor and countenance on me when I come into Your presence, desiring to know You more intimately. Wash away all my sins by the merits of Jesus’ blood (1 John 1:7), that they may never be laid to my charge. Increase my faith, preserve and keep safe my soul from the danger of the devil and his wicked angels. Comfort me with Your Holy Spirit; cause me now to feel that You are my loving Father, and that I am Your child by adoption and grace.
- As a true believer I have a place of refuge in You for all occasions (Deut. 33:27; Ps. 46:1; 48:3). I am preserved under Your Almighty wings in the day of evil. It is there I find You, in and through Christ, a refuge both in life and death.
- You are my help, my strong tower, my bulwark, my shield, my very power. I hold to the truth of Your promises for Your way is perfect, and Your Word is a buckler to all those that trust in You. You answer my prayers, You hear the voice of my supplications, and this is because You have inclined Your ear to me, and so, like the psalmist says, I will call on You as long as I live!
Further References for Psalm 46:1
Ps. 9:9; Deut. 4:7; Prov. 14:26; Isa. 25:4; Exod. 15:2 Ps. 3:6
