I place my bags in the car and sluggishly slide into my seat after a long day at work and small group. I go to press the start button and nothing happens. Panic begins to simmer. With child-like faith, I try again and nothing happens besides a rippling cascade of dread begins to wash over me. A feeling that I am too well acquainted with. I go to press the start button again, but no luck. My car won’t start. My face warms, tension creeps into my shoulders, and my eyes start to pool with tears. Helpless.
Car troubles haunt me too frequently. It is an arranged marriage with AAA that I never wanted. Albeit, grateful for. From nails being attracted to my tires, a battery dying at the end of the first week of school, an engine cutting off in the middle of a busy interstate, to myself now coping with another car issue. I hate car problems. Slowly, I take a deep breath and exhale, “Lord, help me…”
Fast forward a week through another car issue, catching rides with friends, taking it to my mechanic, and getting a diagnosis of my car situation, I now have my car back. Over the week though, one verse weaved its way through what was unfolding before me and it was Psalm 46:1.
“God is our strength and refuge; a very present help in trouble.”
How timely. God is our strength. God is our refuge. God is a very present help in trouble. All three came to life and I experienced it through various means.
He was my strength. He was the sustainer, not I. I experienced it as His truth in the Bible was an anchor that stabilized my emotions. I heard it through my friend’s warm reminders of encouragement. I saw it in how He humbled me to take each day at a time, thank Him for his “new morning mercies,” and depend on Him more fully.
He was my refuge. I noticed His comfort through His word as my friend drove me home and recited to me the beginning of 1 Peter 1. It was a solace and caused me to remember who God was with certainty amid the uncertainty. I felt his warmth in the hug of a close friend and safety in my prayers to Him.
He was a very present help in trouble. Whether my feelings wanted to say otherwise. His truth trumps them. He was there. Not distant or far off leaving me unattended. He was very present through the kindness of my friends when they stopped what they were doing to help troubleshoot my car with eagerness. To AAA towing my car. He was present as he provided multiple rides for me throughout the week. He was present as He guided my mechanic to problem-solve the issue with my car. He was very present even if the answer to my car problem wasn’t.
You might not have experienced car troubles this week like I did, but nonetheless we serve the same God in our everyday lives. So look up, out, around, and back on God’s faithfulness. It is there. God is our strength, refuge, and a very present help. He shows us who He is anchored in the truth of scripture and applied in the pressures that we face. He is fully worthy of giving thanks for all that He is and does for us even when circumstances seem untimely.
I will remember the deeds of the LORD; yes, I will remember your wonders of old. I will ponder all your work, and meditate on your mighty deeds. Your way, O God, is holy. What God is like you?
-Psalm 77:11-13
Rachel Whisman 
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