Refuge and Strength
Do you find yourself in a situation where you feel squeezed? You have done everything in your power to remedy the situation, but you keep coming up empty. You have used up all your get out of jail free cards, but you still feel imprisoned. It feels like you are teetering on a beam high above the skyline and there is no safety net to catch you if you fall. You feel like you have run out of options. You are simply ready to throw in the towel and give up.
Just when you think you’ve run out of options and there is no place else to turn, no place to hide, the good news is that God is standing right there offering you a place of safety and security. It is not simply me telling you this good news; instead, it is scripture speaking these words.
Psalm 46 is a beautiful picture of the security we have in God. It emphasizes two truths about God: His presence and His strength. In verses 1-3 we see a call to trust God in the midst of life collapsing in upon us. Verses 4-6 tell us that we can find comfort in the fact that God sustains us in the midst of life collapsing. And in verses 8-10, we see God offering rest and reassurance. Verses 7 and 11 remind that God is with us and He is our fortress. Now let’s look at Psalm 46.
(vv. 1-3) “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though the waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.”
(vv. 4-6) “There is a river [metaphor for blessing and restoration] whose streams make glad the city of God [people of God], the holy place where the Most High dwells. God is with her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day [God’s mercies are new every morning, Lam. 3:22-23]. Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall; he lifts his voice, the earth melts.”
(vv. 8-10) “Come and see the works of the LORD, the desolations he has brought on the earth. He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth; he breaks the bow and shatters the spear, he burns the shield with fire. Be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”
And verses 7 and 11 are the bookends… “The LORD Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.”
With God you never run out of options. He is your refuge (fortress/shelter) to hide in, He is your strength, He triumphs over all things, and He offers you rest and reassurance. Just when you feel like you are starting to fall off the beam, high above the pavement, hear these words, “The eternal God is your refuge and underneath are the everlasting arms” (Deuteronomy 33:27a).
God is more than just a safety net. He does not merely catch us. He is our refuge and our strength.
So, today you can have faith and confidence in God‘s readiness to protect you and help you.
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