God is our refuge and strength,
a very present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way,
though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea,
though its waters roar and foam,
though the mountains tremble at its swelling.
— Psalm 46:1-3 ESV
Where can you go when the familiar and friendly life you had is suddenly broken up by forces beyond your control? Where can you go when that which you relied upon to be there when you needed it suddenly disappears? Maybe the one idea or product that kept your business afloat is stolen by competitors. Maybe the star witness that could exonerate you in a court of law suddenly gets cold feet. Maybe the key person you depended on to run your campaign deserts you for a job with the opposition. Where can you go?
Where do you go when it seems like the very earth has given way? When it seems like a landslide has carried the very mountains into the heart of the sea? That which seemed stable, and even eternal, breaks apart and crumbles to pieces. You begin to question your talents and abilities. You even begin to question the call of God on your life. Maybe you got it wrong. Maybe it was all a big mistake. After all, if God were in it, He wouldn't have allowed all this to happen, would He?
Then it gets worse. It seems like the sea can't stop churning and convulsing. It seems like one chain of mountains wasn't enough for it and it wants to swallow even more of them. The one thing you needed was taken away and now everything else is being threatened. Real fear begins to rise up in your soul. Anxiety like you've never had before gets a grip on you. You try to keep it under control, but this is beyond anything you have ever experienced. It's the challenge of your life.
But then it happens. Maybe it was the result of your mother's instruction, or maybe it was the result of the Sunday school you attended, or maybe it was your habit of Bible reading in the early morning, but, whatever it was, it was the reason our verse for today came to mind.
Where can you go? What will take away the fear and anxiety? You can go to God, for "He is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble."