Sand Mountain Sermonette 36
Psalm 46:1, King James Version, Psalm 46:11-12, Matthew 5:9
Hungry-Hungry Hippos!
“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.”
Psalm 46:1, King James Version
When I was four years old, my mother and her mom, my grandmother Iris, loaded us onto a train which took us from Albertville, Alabama, to Chula Vista, California, where we would spend some time with my grandmother’s brother and his family. While there, my mom and grandmother took me to Disneyland located in Anaheim, California. Disneyland had recently opened in 1955, and there we were standing in one of the neatest places you could find, anywhere. But the morning we stepped onto the Disney pavement, and for the rest of the day, we were headed for troubled waters.
Mother told me later that I cried and cried as we entered the park; so much so that a kind gentleman who was passing by handed my mom a book of tickets that would allow us to ride anything we wanted to ride that day! I guess he was hoping this would quieten me down and bring some relief to my mom and grandmother. However, that did not seem to work for when we rode the Jungle Cruise ride, I let the screams fly! Although our Disneyland experience took place sixty plus years ago, I still vividly remember two things about that ride: the jungle natives (simulated) who sprang up with spears in hand directed toward our boat and the hippos! I can still remember clinging to my mom as we approached their site for their ears were wiggling in the water, which really got to me, and then having them rise up out of the water and roar sealed the deal!
Sometimes we are in desperate need of a calming presence whether we are four or eighty-four years of age and although I didn’t realize it at the time, my mother and grandmother were there for me! The psalmist was calling God’s people, the Israelites, to not fear when facing any crisis. He goes on to say that although earthquakes come, mountains crumble into the sea, oceans get rough, and mountains tremble as the waters surge (see verses 2-3), God is our shelter and strength; a very present help (attainable Helper) in times of distress. The psalmist could have been writing of the Mount St. Helen’s cataclysmic eruption of 1980 as well as the explosive anger, hatred, and violence we are currently witnessing in many of our major cities and other areas across the United States.
But Christian, allow me to encourage you that God is our refuge and strength and very present help in trouble when fears come, problems in life appear to be insurmountable, and we fret over tomorrow’s spears and hippo’s ears! So, what do we do? Psalm 46:11-12 reads, “Cease striving (which in Hebrew means “to let down the arms”) 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 stronghold,” New American Standard Bible. And, having received God’s calming presence through Christ, go be His presence to others who are troubled!
(See Matthew 5:9)
Pastor Louie