Life has a way of shaking us to the core. Just when we think we have everything figured out, the ground beneath our feet begins to tremble. The mountains we thought were permanent suddenly slide into the sea. The solid earth we were counting on gives way, and we find ourselves grasping for something—anything—that will hold.
This is the world Psalm 46 addresses, not a world of minor inconveniences or small setbacks but a world where the very foundations are shaking.
Yet in the midst of this cosmic upheaval, the psalmist makes an audacious claim: “We will not fear” (verse 2). How is such confidence possible when everything around us is falling apart? The answer is found in the very first line: “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble” (verse 1).
~ The Story Behind Psalm 46 ~
Let’s begin our exploration of the timely psalm with a little historical context. Many Bible scholars believe this psalm was written to commemorate one of the most dramatic deliverances in Israel’s history. In 701 B.C., the Assyrian army under King Sennacherib had swept through the ancient Near East like a tsunami. Nation after nation fell before their military might. The Assyrians were known for their cruelty—impaling their enemies, flaying them alive, and decorating their cities with the heads of those who opposed them.
Now this terrifying army stood at the gates of Jerusalem. In his own annals, discovered by archaeologists, Sennacherib boasted: “As for Hezekiah the Jew, who did not submit to my yoke: forty-six of his strong, walled cities, as well as the small towns in their neighborhood, which were without number.... I besieged and took (those cities).... Himself, like a caged bird, I shut up in Jerusalem his royal city.”1
Inside Jerusalem’s walls King Hezekiah and the prophet Isaiah exhorted the people to trust in God. The situation looked hopeless. The prophet actually recorded some of the boasts and threats the Assyrian’s were shouting in an effort to demoralize and terrify the people who had taken refuge in the city.
The Assyrian field commander stood outside the walls and mocked their faith: “Do not let Hezekiah deceive you, for he will not be able to deliver you; nor let Hezekiah make you trust in the Lord, saying, ‘The Lord will surely deliver us; this city will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria’” (Isaiah 36:14-15).
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But then in one night everything changed. The Bible records: “And it came to pass on a certain night that the angel of the Lord went out, and killed in the camp of the Assyrians one hundred and eighty-five thousand; and when people arose early in the morning, there were the corpses—all dead” (2 Kings 19:35).
Imagine waking up that morning in Jerusalem. The night before you went to bed knowing that 185,000 battle-hardened Assyrian soldiers were camped outside your gates. You fell asleep to the sound of their taunts and threats. But in the morning—silence. When scouts were sent out, they found a massive graveyard where an army had been.
This is the kind of deliverance that inspires you to write a psalm. This is the kind of intervention that causes you to sing, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble” (verse 1).
Notice how the psalmist describes God using three powerful images.
- God is our refuge. The Hebrew word used here is machseh, which means “a shelter or place of protection.” It’s the same word used when Ruth was told she had come to find refuge under the wings of the God of Israel (Ruth 2:12). Like a mother bird spreading her wings over her young during a storm, God spreads His protective presence over His people.
- God is our strength. The Hebrew word is oz, meaning “might or power.” It’s not just that God provides a hiding place in a time of trouble; He also provides the strength we need to face those troubles. He doesn’t just protect us from the storm; He empowers us to stand in it.
- God is a very present help in trouble. The phrase “very present” translates a Hebrew expression that means “abundantly available” or “proven by experience.” This isn’t theoretical help that might show up someday. This is help that has been tested and proven reliable time and time again.
~ Trouble Will Come ~
Let’s be honest about something: This psalm doesn’t promise the absence of trouble. On the contrary, it assumes trouble will come. The earth will shake. The mountains will tremble. The waters will roar. The nations will rage. This is not a psalm for people living in a fantasy world where nothing bad ever happens. This is a psalm for people living in the real world where cancer diagnoses come, where jobs are lost, where marriages struggle, where children rebel, and where economies falter.
The promise is not that we won’t face trouble but that when trouble comes, we have a refuge. We have strength. We have help that is abundantly available.
I once spoke with a woman whose husband had just been diagnosed with terminal cancer. She said to me, “Pastor, I always thought that if something like this happened, I would fall apart. But I haven’t fallen apart. Somehow, I’m still standing. Somehow, I have strength I didn’t know was possible.”
That’s what it means to have God as your refuge and strength. It doesn’t mean the diagnosis doesn’t come. It means that when it comes, you discover resources you didn’t know you had because they’re not your resources. They’re God’s.
Occasionally a mountain does fall into the sea in some sort of earthquake-triggered landslide. But it’s not a common occurrence. The psalmist uses apocalyptic language here to describe the troubles we face: “Though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; though its waters roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with its swelling” (verses 2-3).
This is metaphoric language, but it describes something very real. Sometimes life feels exactly like this—like the solid ground beneath our feet is giving way, like the mountains we’ve always counted on for stability are sliding into chaos.
I recall a man who came to his office one morning to find a pink slip on his desk. After 25 years with the company, he was being let go unexpectedly. “It felt,” he told me later, “like the earth was removed from under my feet.”
I think of the parents who got the late-night call every parent dreads—their teenager had been in an accident. “Our whole world shook,” they said. “Everything we thought was stable suddenly wasn’t.”
I think of the woman who discovered her husband’s affair. “The mountains of our marriage,” she wept, “just slid into the sea.”
These are the moments Psalm 46 addresses. Not the minor irritations of life but the major earthquakes. Not the small waves but the tsunamis. Not the gentle shaking but the violent upheavals that threaten to destroy everything we hold dear.
~ Fear Is a Choice ~
This remarkable psalm also reveals that fear is a choice. In the face of such catastrophic troubles, the psalmist makes a remarkable declaration: “Therefore we will not fear” (verse 2). Notice this is not a feeling but a choice. The psalmist doesn’t say, “We don’t feel afraid.” He says, “We will not fear.” There’s a big difference.
Fear is a natural response to danger. When the earth shakes, fear is normal. When the mountains fall, fear is understandable. When the waters roar, fear is expected. But the psalmist is making a deliberate choice: Despite all the reasons to be afraid, “we will not fear.”
How is such a choice possible? It’s only possible because of what comes before the “therefore.” We will not fear because God is our refuge. We will not fear because God is our strength. We will not fear because God is a very present help in trouble.
This doesn’t mean we never feel afraid. It means we don’t let fear have the final word. We don’t let fear control our decisions. We don’t let fear determine our destiny.
~ What Are You Standing On? ~
In Matthew 7:24-27, Jesus told a parable about two men who built houses—one on sand and one on rock. When the storms came, the house on sand collapsed, but the house on rock stood firm. The difference wasn’t in the storm; both houses faced the same storm. The difference was in the foundation.
This is what Psalm 46 is really about—foundations. When everything else is shaking, what are you standing on? When the mountains are falling into the sea, where is your security? When the earth is being removed, what is holding you up?
The world offers many foundations: financial security, personal health, professional success, and family stability. These aren’t bad things, but they make terrible foundations because they can all be shaken. The stock market can crash. Health can fail. Careers can end. Families can fracture.
Only God provides an unshakeable foundation. Only He remains steady when everything else is shaking. Only He stands firm when everything else is falling.
Throughout history God’s people have discovered the truth of Psalm 46 in the midst of their darkest moments. It’s been said that during the bombing of London in World War II, churches throughout the city posted these words on their doors: “God is our refuge and strength.” Citizens who spent the night in bomb shelters while their city burned around them would emerge to see these words and take courage.
It is no coincidence that Corrie ten Boom, who survived the Nazi concentration camps, loved to quote this psalm. She saw the mountains fall into the sea. She felt the earth removed from beneath her feet. She heard the waters roar and be troubled. But she also discovered that God was indeed a very present help in trouble.
Martin Luther, when facing the combined opposition of church and state during the Reformation, turned this psalm into a mighty hymn called “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God.” When his world was shaking, when the mountains of religious tradition were falling into the sea, he found his refuge in God.
~ God Is a Very Present Help ~
One of the most comforting aspects of this psalm is the phrase “very present help.” God is not distant when trouble comes. He’s not absent when we need Him most. He’s abundantly available, very present.
God became flesh in Jesus Christ. He sent His Spirit to dwell within us. He places us in the community of faith. He provides His presence in ways we can experience and feel.
When the medical test results are bad, He is very present through the doctor who takes extra time to explain and comfort. When the job is lost, He is very present through the friend who shows up with groceries. When the marriage is struggling, He is very present through the counselor who offers wisdom and hope. When the grief is overwhelming, He is very present through the arms that hold us while we weep.
The truth is, we live in a world where mountains do fall into the sea. We’ve seen it happen literally in earthquakes and landslides. We’ve seen it happen figuratively in economic collapses, terrorist attacks, global pandemics, and personal tragedies.
But we also live in a world where God has proven Himself to be a refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Every generation of believers has discovered this truth afresh. Every crisis has revealed His faithfulness anew.
The question is not whether trouble will come—it will. The question is not whether our world will shake—it will. The question is: Where will we find our refuge when it does?
The testimony of Scripture, the witness of history, and the experience of countless believers all point to the same answer: “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear” (Psalm 46:1-2).
This is not wishful thinking. This is the settled confidence of those who have found their foundation in the unshakeable God. This is the quiet courage of those who have discovered that even when mountains fall into the sea, God remains our refuge.
And that makes all the difference in the world.
Notes:
1Daniel David Luckenbill, The Annals of Sennacherib (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1924), 32-33.
This article was adapted from Dr. Jeremiah's book Five Psalms for a Flourishing Life.
The book of Psalms provides strength, guidance, and encouragement for daily life. In this practical resource, Dr. David Jeremiah highlights five Psalms to help believers experience a flourishing, God-centered life in every circumstance.
These timeless passages offer a foundation for spiritual growth, helping readers draw from eternal resources while bearing fruit that impacts everyday life.