God is our refuge

M.A.C.E. student Eric Robinson shares his reflections on attending the Association of Presbyterian Church Educators (APCE) 2017 Annual Event in Denver, Colorado.

In the workshop, “Creating Beautiful Worship,” we had the opportunity to use multiple intelligences to develop different portions of the liturgy for an APCE worship. In our group, we used the refrain of  “God is our refuge. God is our strength” as a call/response to read Psalm 46. Below is a model of that refrain, while drawing on some of the themes learned at APCE.

Psalm 46:1-3

God is our refuge and strength,
an ever-present help in trouble.
2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
3 though its waters roar and foam
and the mountains quake with their surging

God is with us in the chaos.

God is our refuge. God is our strength.

When the chaos comes, and it will, will we buckle in fear, or embrace the presence of God, who truly is our refuge and our strength?

God is our refuge. God is our strength.

When ministry is frustrating and we don’t seem to be getting through. When the work seems hopeless, we trust in a God whose Word will not return void, who “can make a river flow where there was no river” (Dr. Larron Jackson in his plenary).

God is our refuge. God is our strength.

When the challenges of life descend and we are pressed in on every side, we rest in the presence of a God who holds our lives and future in God’s hands.

God is our refuge. God is our strength.

When it seems that the church is declining and losing membership every day, in her plenary, Nadia Bolz Weber reminded us that it is Christ’s church and that God’s mission of healing and reconciliation will go forward.

God is our refuge. God is our strength.

When it seems the way is dim, and the darkness has descended all around, we trust in Christ, the true light, and a God of impenetrable light, who makes a way out of no way.

God is our refuge. God is our strength.

Be encouraged, brothers and sisters. Trust in God, who truly is with us in the chaos.