Show Don't Tell: Psalm 46

Instead of saying "God protects us in chaos," watch the earth dissolve. "God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble." Ever-present—not eventually present, not sometimes present. "Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging." Earth collapsing, mountains tumbling into ocean, waters raging—and no fear. "There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells." Amid chaos, a river of gladness. Jerusalem has no river—this is divine provision. "God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day. Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall; he lifts his voice, the earth melts." Nations raging, God speaking, earth melting. "The LORD Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress." The refrain. "Come and see what the LORD has done, the desolations he has brought on the earth. He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth. He breaks the bow and shatters the spear; he burns the shields with fire." Weapons destroyed, wars ended. "He says, 'Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.'" Be still—stop striving, stop panicking. "The LORD Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress."