Psalm 46:1-2a Thursday

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. THEREFORE we will not fear,...Psalm 46:1-2a

The word therefore introduces a statement resulting from, or caused by, what immediately precedes it.

In this verse, the fact that we will not fear is BECAUSE God IS our refuge and strength and IS our very present help in time of trouble. The implication here is that if I fear, then God must NOT BE my refuge or strength or a very present help in trouble. My sisters, would you ask yourself right now if you have fear in your life? Are you afraid more than you're not. Do you worry a lot? Does your family call you a "worrier?"

Worry is fear with a target. Anxiety is fear without a target. I know that because I suffer from acute anxiety. It's called Generalized Anxiety Disorder or GAD. And it's miserable. [If you want me to discuss GAD with you further, please message me so I can give you more information.] For me it was and is a chemical imbalance. I have no control over the physical effects GAD causes, which for me, are diarrhea, irritable bowel and panic attacks. And because of these symptoms I have to be medicated. If you respond totally off the charts with anxiety, please do not beat yourself up that it's lack of faith. This is not the worry and anxiety I'm talking about. Do I hate to admit that I have to be medicated? Yes. But I feel I must to ease the conscience of people who have it and don't know what they have.

The type of fear I'm talking about is chronic worrying, wondering if God is capable of taking care of you, doubting that He can. It's wringing your hands because you can't "fix it" and worrying that God doesn't know how. I know what fear feels like. I know that it doesn't feel like faith. It freezes. It paralyzes. It stagnates. It does exactly what Satan wants it to do. It's what Jesus told his listeners not to do, in the sermon on the mount. He called the worriers "O you of little faith." I wonder if I had been there that day, would I have even realized he was talking to me? Would I have worried about what I had worn that day? Would I have worried about what I was going to eat that day? Would I have worried about "life" that day?

I believe the answer might lie in how I would answer the question, "Did I worry about anything today?" Did I......worry.......about anything.......today?

Ladies if we live in fear, especially about nature (natural disasters) and the nations (what will happen to the United States) like David is specifically referring to in this chapter, then God must not be our refuge, strength and help in times of trouble. We cannot just give lip-service and say that he is, when our emotions say something different. Only when God really is my refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble, will I be able to say and mean it, "I am not afraid."