Lessons from the Valley: "She" Fails Daily

Psalm 46:5 has recently gained immense popularity over the past several months. The encouraging words and pretty graphics that adorn T-shirts, coffee mugs, and floral printables have certainly caught my eye. However, I have refrained from "sharing", "liking", or purchasing items with this phrase for one basic reason- it isn't biblical.

Yes, Psalm 46:5 is in the Bible- but the gross misinterpretation of its meaning is what gives me pause. I have seen two versions of this verse circulating mainstream media, both with the same intended meaning:

God is within her, she will not fail.

God is within her, she will not fall.

Let's hit the brakes right here for a moment. God is in me and I fail (or fall) on a daily basis. Did I miss something? Am I some strange anomaly of the Christian world? Or could it be that this verse isn't really as it seems?

Friend, this is a very good example of a Bible verse that has been taken out of context. If you read the verse before Psalm 46:5, you will see that the "she" the Bible is referring to isn't a woman, but a city.

There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the most high dwells. God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at the break of day.

I get why this phrase is so popular. It is nice to think that because God is in us, we can conquer the world and never get knocked down or fail. As much as we wish that were true, it just plain isn't. You see, it isn't about us at all- it's about He who is within us.

While we remain on this earth we will be sinful beings saved by the grace of Jesus Christ. We can do nothing good on our own. We fail daily. Yet God never fails. And because He is within us, we can rest in the assurance that He will take our failures and our struggles and use them for His glory and for our ultimate good. Not because we deserve it, but because He loves us that much.

So even though this catchy phrase isn't biblical or true, we can rest in His promise that: