Stress Test Devotional May 4
May 04, 2024
PSALM 46:1, 10-11 | 1 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
10 “Be still, and know that I am God! I am exalted among the nations, I am exalted in the earth.” 11 The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge.
“A mighty fortress is our God,
A bulwark never failing,
Our helper He amid the flood,
Of mortal ills prevailing”
This hymn was written by Martin Luther, most likely in 1527, when the great reformer was ill with the plague. There were three epidemics, or sustained periods of pestilence in Europe. One in the 1300’s, from 1347-51, called the Black Death. Another in the 1500’s, when there was a new strain. Luther refused to move his family away from Wittenberg to Jena because he wanted to minister to the ill and dying. At one point there were 18 deaths in 17 days in August of 1527. Those days showed “mortal ills” aplenty, with the mayor’s wife dying in Luther’s arms. Psalm 46 was a comfort to Luther. It describes God as a mighty fortress that can’t be breached, a defensive wall, a bulwark, that can’t be overcome. We can count on his presence when tragedy threatens or death looms.
Have you ever faced severe illness or near-death?
Gracious God,
You are our final defender and last resort in mortal peril. Thank you for being our helper in danger.
Amen.
