Yesterday and the day before in my Jesus Calling devotional, the author, Sarah Young, makes reference to the same scripture:
God is our refuge and strength,
A very present help in trouble. (Psalm 46:1, New American Standard Bible)
I know beyond any doubt, that in my life, God has proven Himself true to this word. He has been the refuge where I hide...the source of strength when I have none...the help that is always present when I have trouble. What interested me about this passage though was not Young's devotional entry, nor the version as it reads above. No, what intrigued me and has had me mulling over it...chewing on it...and attempting to feebly form words to express it where two superscripts found in the text that offered additional words for the translation.
The first alternative is for the phrase "A very present help". Being a visual person, the substitute of "Abundantly available for help" just happens to hit me in a way that means more than the word "very".
Isn't it great to be assured that the Creator of the universe not only loves us and is available for help...He is abundantly available for help? He is a veritable cornucopia of overflowing presence ready to bail us out, lift us up or keep us quiet...whatever option would be best for us...just when we need Him.
And we've all had lots of trouble, right? But for me, this word makes me think along the lines of something I've done wrong. That's why I think the other option for translating this word spoke to me as it did. Instead of "trouble", the phrase "tight places" better describes most of the obstacles He's had to help me overcome.
Many of us might not be able to think of a lot of troubles in our lives...but I bet we can envision several tight places. They may be tight places of my own doing...like paths I've wandered down that I need to backpedal out of really fast. They may be tight places that occur because we live in a fallen world and can't escape the physical consequence of a world filled with sin. They may be tight places that someone else shoved me into...accidentally or intentionally. And they may be tight places that I was born into, but didn't realize they were even tight until He started to help me outgrow them.
Whatever the tight place...He's there...providing abundant help. Praise God this is a verse I can hang my faith on! Sometimes, when I look back over my 44 years, I am moved to tears at all of the tight places that have been thrown at me and He has pulled me through. There are some that I shake my head in amazement and just simply ask Him, "How did You pull me through that?" The memory of the pain, the confusion, the exhausted energy and even the situation fades...but what doesn't fade...and in fact, becomes more abundant with each tight place I encounter...is the memory emblazoned on my mind of a God who has been faithful to stick His Hand into that crevice by the side of the road where I have been thrust and gently, patiently pulls me out so I can keep heading forward on The Journey.
Whatever the tight place you may presently be enduring...cry out for Him and you will find His Presence ready to help...abundantly.
Amen!
God is our refuge and strength,
A very present help in trouble. (Psalm 46:1, New American Standard Bible)
I know beyond any doubt, that in my life, God has proven Himself true to this word. He has been the refuge where I hide...the source of strength when I have none...the help that is always present when I have trouble. What interested me about this passage though was not Young's devotional entry, nor the version as it reads above. No, what intrigued me and has had me mulling over it...chewing on it...and attempting to feebly form words to express it where two superscripts found in the text that offered additional words for the translation.
The first alternative is for the phrase "A very present help". Being a visual person, the substitute of "Abundantly available for help" just happens to hit me in a way that means more than the word "very".
Isn't it great to be assured that the Creator of the universe not only loves us and is available for help...He is abundantly available for help? He is a veritable cornucopia of overflowing presence ready to bail us out, lift us up or keep us quiet...whatever option would be best for us...just when we need Him.
And we've all had lots of trouble, right? But for me, this word makes me think along the lines of something I've done wrong. That's why I think the other option for translating this word spoke to me as it did. Instead of "trouble", the phrase "tight places" better describes most of the obstacles He's had to help me overcome.
Many of us might not be able to think of a lot of troubles in our lives...but I bet we can envision several tight places. They may be tight places of my own doing...like paths I've wandered down that I need to backpedal out of really fast. They may be tight places that occur because we live in a fallen world and can't escape the physical consequence of a world filled with sin. They may be tight places that someone else shoved me into...accidentally or intentionally. And they may be tight places that I was born into, but didn't realize they were even tight until He started to help me outgrow them.
Whatever the tight place...He's there...providing abundant help. Praise God this is a verse I can hang my faith on! Sometimes, when I look back over my 44 years, I am moved to tears at all of the tight places that have been thrown at me and He has pulled me through. There are some that I shake my head in amazement and just simply ask Him, "How did You pull me through that?" The memory of the pain, the confusion, the exhausted energy and even the situation fades...but what doesn't fade...and in fact, becomes more abundant with each tight place I encounter...is the memory emblazoned on my mind of a God who has been faithful to stick His Hand into that crevice by the side of the road where I have been thrust and gently, patiently pulls me out so I can keep heading forward on The Journey.
Whatever the tight place you may presently be enduring...cry out for Him and you will find His Presence ready to help...abundantly.
Amen!
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