IT SEEMS LIKE THE GROUND IS SHAKING under our feet. If you are like me, you have been tempted to anxiety. My answer has been memorizing Psalm 46. It has been particularly helpful. The crucial line, that everyone knows, is verse 9, “Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted amongst the nations. I will be exalted in the earth.” But the Psalm contains other, often overlooked, good news. 

The context  is shaking. “Though the earth give way, though the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble with its swelling” (Vs. 2-3).  That is what it feels like right now. Everything is shaking. First the Covid virus, then the lock down, then the George Floyd death followed by lawless rioting, and most concerning, the unwillingness of the government to protect life and property. Add to that the mass shooting at Uvalde, TX, inflation, the price of gas, and the war in Ukraine, and the average American has grounds for anxiety.

But God’s word to Judy and me has been. “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in time of Trouble” (Vs. 1). “There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy habitation of the Most High. God is in the midst of her. God will help her when morning dawns” (Vs 4-5). And verse 9 & 10. “He breaks the bow. He shatters the spear. He burns the chariots with fire. Be still and know that I am God.” Last,  Ps. 46 twice reminds us of this precious truth.  In the midst of shaking, when it feels like the foundations are collapsing, “The Lord of hosts is with us. The God of Jacob is our fortress” (Vs. 7, 11). 

We are in the midst of big changes. The future is uncertain, and uncertainty always provokes fear. Let us all pray that we can take refuge in the God of this Psalm. Let us all pray for power to rest confident in the God that can carry us through the future, no matter what it holds. “Be still and know that I am God.”