God is our refuge and strength,

A very present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear,
Even though the earth be removed,
And though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea. – Psalm 46:1-2 NKJV. 

Come, behold the works of the Lord,
Who has made desolations in the earth.
He makes wars cease to the end of the earth;
He breaks the bow and cuts the spear in two;
He burns the chariot in the fire.

Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth!

The Lord of hosts is with us;
The God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah – Psalm 46:8-11 NKJV. 

Livae Nanjikana and Junior Qoloni of the Solomon Islands planned to make a trip about 129 miles south along the coastlines of a couple of islands as their guide. They were in a small boat with only a small motor, but they had made the trip before and thought it would be safe enough.

Not long into their trip they ran into blinding rain which made it where they could not see the islands that they were following. Then, their GPS went out. They survived on just the little bit of food they had brought with them and rainwater. They drifted 250 miles north instead of south, ending up being rescued near Papua New Guinea.

Nanjikana said about their misadventure, “I had no idea what was going on while I was out there. I didn’t hear about Covid or anything else. I look forward to going back home but I guess it was a nice break from everything.” (Thanks to “The Guardian” for this great story; also, MSN 10.11.21; Sibconline 10.06.21)

As I look out my window this morning all is white as we have had a little snowstorm. All the imperfections are gone, all is pure as God has sent this snow upon us. It may be the last one before the spring rains and storms come. But wouldn’t it be nice if God could paint the whole world in a white splash of purity wiping out all of the ugliness that is so obvious in these days. It would be beyond wonderful if God could make the whole world, “white as snow (Isaiah 1:18).”

In their unintended adventure the two Solomon islanders found a little of a separate world, a godly world, emptied of fear of covid or any news of war. I do not know if these men know the Lord as their Savior, but I pray that they do. As I was reading a commentary about this verse this morning it said, “The way to know God is to be still, and the way to be still is to know God.”

On a plane coming back home from Hawaii 27 years ago I was sitting next to a young woman from the Solomon Islands. She was going back to college in Enid, Oklahoma. She shared with me that she had been a party animal until she has received Jesus as her Savior. She said that there had been a move of God on the islands and one of the men responded to God’s call and came to the United States to reach the islanders here. He first went to the college at Enid, and many were saved and then some from that college went out to other colleges to reach more of the islanders. God can change your life if you will let Him, I know that He has changed mine!

As verse 1 of Psalm 46 says, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” This is where we will find our safety, not in governments; and nations will not find their safety in alliances either. The best place of safety whether for a person or a country is in the hands of God, trusting in Him. The Psalmist had experienced this for himself and for his nation and knew it to be true.

Let us dig deep into the great riches of God through His Word, through prayer, through fellowship with other believers, and through serving those who are hurting. As we do, we will discover the stillness of a refuge that takes us beyond the troubles of this world.