I am writing this on a Friday morning, before the US stock markets open after a disastrous Thursday sell-off, and with overnight news of dramatic overseas declines.  What should we make of all this news, as Christians?  Last Sunday morning I preached from Psalm 11:3, "When the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?"  That question David faced is the same question we face in the tumultuous times now facing us.

I ended the sermon with a reference to Psalm 46, one that seems even more timely today than it did last weekend.  I am thinking especially of verses 2 and 3: " ... 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."  The mountains falling into the sea in the Psalmist's day are no more or less unsettling than stocks crashing in markets around the world today.

What is God's greatest concern in all of this?  Is it that we find a way to protect our investments so as to have more of this world's benefits to enjoy in the remaining years of our lives?  Or is it that we benefit from this opportunity to grow a faith that is stronger than steel?  Financial gurus tell us we should think about long-term gains, not short-term losses.  If that's true in the financial world, how much more true it is in the spiritual realm.

Psalm 46 begins with the words, "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.  Therefore we will not fear ..." regardless of what happens in the world around us.  The greatest victory available to us today will not be on Wall Street; it will be in our hearts, as we discover how the presence of the Lord, His sovereign control and His massive promises, demolishes the temptation to fear.