Anchor Devotional

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The Great Memorial Panic

“God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.” Psalm 46:1

I played the bass drum in my junior high school band. One year I was marching along in the Memorial Day parade when the strap holding the drum on my shoulders began to slip loose. If not corrected, it would fall. Since the drum provides the cadence for the entire band, I couldn’t stop to fix it. I had visions of it crashing down, me tripping over it, and the whole crew falling apart because the cadence had stopped. I was close to panic. But suddenly, our director appeared at my side and fixed the strap without me—literally—missing a beat.

It brings to mind Psalm 46:1. The words “God is an ever-present help in trouble” can be translated, “God lets Himself be found in trouble.” I like that. When I played hide and seek with my grandchildren, I’d only partially hide so I could be found. That’s like God. When we’re about to lose our step, when the drumbeat of our life is about to fall out of sync, when the straps that keep our life in place are coming undone, when we’re seeking God, He lets Himself be found. He alone is our refuge and strength.

SCRIPTURE FOCUS
Psalm 46

INSIGHT
“God is the refuge of His saints,/ When storms of sharp distress invade;/ E’er we can offer our complaints, / Behold Him present with His aid.” (Isaac Watts, 1719)

THROUGH THE BIBLE IN A YEAR
Isaiah 65-66
Psalm 103
Acts 27

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