October 20
Jeremiah 34-36
Psalm 118:5-14
Proverbs 25:14-15
Hebrews 3
Refuge
“I called to the Lord in distress; the Lord answered me and put me in a spacious place. The Lord is for me; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me? The Lord is my helper; therefore, I will look in triumph on those who hate me. It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man. It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in nobles. You pushed me hard to make me fall, but the Lord helped me. The Lord is my strength and my song; He has become my salvation.” Psalm 118:5-9, 13-14 HCSB
There are many Bible verses about taking refuge in God. But what does that really mean and how do we do it? It sounds good, but from a practical standpoint what does that look like in our lives? Merriam-Webster defines refuge as “a shelter or protection from danger or distress, a place that provides shelter or protection, something to which one has recourse in difficulty.”17 So, taking refuge is finding a safe place to go during a storm or getting comfort in a time of distress. How can I take refuge in God when He is not physically with me? He cannot protect me physically when I’m in danger and He does not speak to me audibly to give me direction, so how can He be a refuge? When we are in distress or facing difficulty in our lives, we all seek refuge in something. Sometimes those things can be things that bring us comfort and not necessarily protection. What is the first thing you turn to when you are stressed and anxious? Do you turn on a movie, get on social media, or read a book to escape reality? Do you call a friend to vent? Do you eat your favorite comfort food? Do you go to the mall or Target or shop online? What is your go-to when you need to be comforted? Unfortunately, most of the things we turn to do not provide real solutions or help, but only temporarily make us feel better. The problem is still there, and the anxiety and stress inevitably come back. If we can identify those things that we turn to that don’t work, then maybe we can learn to replace them with something that actually has the power to change our situation and give us real protection and comfort.
The Psalms link taking refuge in God with trusting Him. Psalm 56:1-2, Psalm 62: 7-8, Psalm 91:2, and Psalm 62:8 are just a few passages that draw a correlation between the two. Is trusting God a feeling? Or maybe it is a thought process? Is trust an action? I think it is all three. I think it begins as a thought process which leads to action and results in a feeling. Anxiety and stress usually are a result of a thought process. When a crisis or some sort of trouble happens, we begin by processing in our minds all the ramifications. We go to the what ifs and if onlys and end up down a dark hole thinking about all the things that may or may not happen. At this point, we have a choice. We can turn to the things that bring us temporary comfort or we can choose to turn to God instead. There are some actions that we can take that can help us to trust God and take refuge in Him.
1. Turn to God’s Word to remind us of His promises. The more we get to know God, the easier it is to trust Him. The best way to get to know God is to read His Word. I keep a ring of Bible verses in my desk that I turn to when I need to remind myself of God’s faithfulness and promises. They are verses that are comforting to me and give me strength and hope. If we are filling our minds with God’s Word, we are less likely to believe the lies that Satan is whispering in our ears. When we go to God’s Word, there are real answers to our problems. Sometimes He will give us clear direction about what we need to do next and sometimes it is a more general sense of comfort and peace, but either way it is pointing us in a positive direction.
2. Fill our minds and hearts with praise and thanksgiving. Turning on praise music, singing praises to God, reading praise scripture verses, and making a list of all the things we have to be thankful for are excellent ways to demonstrate trust. I am not suggesting that listening to praise music will make our problems go away, but rather that praising God can change things because it changes us. It changes our perspective. Instead of focusing our attention on our problem, we focus our attention on the One who can truly help us deal with whatever situation we face. We can replace our what ifs with even ifs.
3. Talk to God about our problem. When life feels overwhelming and we have no idea what to do, the best thing we can do is bring it to Him. Our most powerful weapon at our disposal is the power of prayer. When we call and talk to a friend, mom, or coworker about our problem, they can tell us what they would do, give us advice, or listen to us cry, but they don’t usually have the ability to fix the problem. When we take our problem to God, we are presenting it to the Creator of the Universe, the One who sustains everything and holds it all together. He is almighty, all-knowing, all-powerful and Lord of all. He cares about us and our problems and He knows how to fix them. Prayer is always our best and most effective recourse.
When we take these actions to demonstrate our trust in our sovereign, loving God, the result is a feeling. Our anxiety and fear are replaced with peace and joy. The situation may not immediately change, but we are changed. We experience His protection and shelter even if the storm rages all around us because He is our refuge.
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