Psalm 46:1 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
That is a wonderful promise. God is our “very present,” help. This word present means in the translation, to appear. In another context we would say of someone “he presented himself to her.” It means to make yourself known, to step forward so to speak. And remember saints, He is not just a present help, he is a very present help. When we add the word “very,’ it is intended to intensify the subject. And so we see that in times of trouble, God presents Himself to us by His manifest presence. He manifests Himself to us in very tangible ways which leaves us in no doubt that He is with us.
When we realize He is with us in our very present circumstances, then our fears are allleviated. Our circumstances may not have changed, but when our Lord has presents Himself to us and manifests His presence to us then we know we will stand. Imagine the three Hebrew Children in the fire and suddenly there is a fourth. Imagine Daniel in the Lions den and the presence of God enters. Imagine Paul and Silas in the dark dungeon and the manifest presence of God rains down.
I know a woman who was crying out to God as she stood on the beach contemplating a terrible set of circumstances and feeling alone and not being able to sense the presence or the promise of God. The waves were coming in and rolling back out literally and figuratively and suddenly before her feet appeared a cross in the sand, created by some drift material. One minute it was not there, the wave rolls out, and God speaks to her heart and it profoundly moves her to “know,” that God has heard her cry and that He is with her in her struggle.
Brothers and sisters, if the whole world is crumbling underneath your feet. And the mountains are tumbling and falling down all around you. And you find yourself surrounded by troubled waters. Hold on, for when God moves, when God speaks, right there in the midst of it all, then peace shall flow like a river, directly into your troubles and will make that troubled heart glad. Be still and know that He is God, He is your refuge and your strength.
A Call To The Remnant 