Tuesday, October 13, 2026
Psalm 46:1 (ESV)
To the choirmaster. Of the Sons of Korah. According to Alamoth. A Song.
God is our refuge and strength,
a very present help in trouble.
Reflection
You and I don’t wake up most mornings thinking we need a refuge. We think we need a good cup of coffee, a clear schedule, cooperative people, and a body that doesn’t ache. It’s only when trouble actually arrives, the diagnosis, the conflict, the failure, the fear that won’t let go, that we remember how little control we ever really had. That’s when this verse stops being a nice sentiment and becomes a lifeline.
God is our refuge. Not a refuge we have to locate on our own, not a refuge we have to earn entry into by having our spiritual act together, but a refuge that he himself is for us. He is also our strength, which means he doesn’t just shelter us from trouble and leave us to white-knuckle our way through it. He empowers us in the middle of it. And notice the tenderness of that last phrase: a very present help. Not distant. Not eventually. Present, right now, in this moment of trouble, whatever your trouble is today.
This is only true because of Jesus. He entered our trouble fully, bore the wrath we deserved, and rose so that we could have permanent, unshakeable access to God as our refuge. You don’t need to clean yourself up before you run to him. Run now, weak and afraid, straight into his strength.
Lord, be my refuge today. I bring you my weakness; please meet me with your strength.
Sources & attribution
Devotional from Morning Selah.
Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.