This is day 6 in a month-long series. Links to previous posts can be found here.
Hi! I wonder how your day was yesterday, dear reader. Many times throughout the day I thought about how loved I am by God. At moments, I doubted it, wondering why He has such affection for a rascal like me. Then other times I accepted it, and peace filled my heart. You are loved. God is a refuge of love. Keep letting that settle in throughout this series!
Not only is God the best, eternal, saving, loving refuge, He is also a refuge of strength and protection. God is strong and He defends His people. God is strong and He is able to protect you. God is strong and shares His strength with us to help us endure trials.
Jeremiah and David both praised God for the refuge of His strength and the strength He provided for them.
Oh Lord, my strength and my fortress,my refuge in time of distress,Jer 16:19
I love you, O Lord, my strength.
The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer,my God is my rock in whom I take refuge.He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.I call to the Lord, who is worthy of praise,and I am saved from my enemies.Psalm 18:1-3
Beyond my day-to-day weakness, there are many things in this life that I imagine if they happened to me, I would not be able to take it. I am weak and fragile, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. These verses make me conclude, however, that because I know the Lord HE would enable me to keep on going, and even praise Him in the midst of it. I don't have to fabricate strength, because God will make me strong. God is a refuge of strength and protection. He won't let His children be defeated and utterly destroyed by enemies, by the great deceiver, or by death.
God is our refuge and strength,and ever-present help in trouble.Psalm 46:1
Do you know what it says later in that Psalm? I bet you do, but may not know it is in the same Psalm.
Be still and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth.
The Lord Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.
Psalm 46:10-11
Be still. In the midst of all the trouble, be still. Get quiet and know that God is still God. He made promises to you, to me, to all of His children that He will keep. He is with you. He is strong. He is protecting you. Be still.
He who fears the Lord has a secure fortress,
and for his children it will be a refuge.
Proverbs 14:26
Be still and fear the Lord, not your circumstances, not your inadequacies, not the unknown future. God is your refuge of strength and protection, the securest of the most secure fortresses! He's got you and all the mess in His hands; He will not leave you or forsake you. Rest, you are surrounded by the best protection and power found in this world and the next.
A mighty fortress is our God!
Running Orders:
- Are you afraid today? Are you facing difficulties or simply uncomfortable circumstances that are throwing you for a loop? Are you feeling inadequate and insecure about who you are and what you are doing? Stop for a few moments and be still. Read through Psalm 46 and let it wash over you.
- Spend a little time praising God, maybe borrowing David's words above, that He is your strength and protector.
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