The words above are from Psalm 46:1
It describes the actions of God, whose love for us is demonstrated by being a refuge for us.
Refuge is defined as being "a place or shelter from danger or distress."
This is not so much a physical place where nothing bad happens or we are out of harms way, as it is a place where the evil that seeks to destroy my soul and body is kept at bay by God.
Bad things happen to people in this old world. You know that, and I know that. Good people are in car wrecks and are killed. Godly people get cancer and die. But the soul and spirit are kept by God and are not allowed to be touched by the enemy.
In the book of Jude we read the following: Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy....
In other words when I placed my trust in Jesus to save me from an eternity of damnation and separation from God, He keeps me. He guards that which I have entrusted to Him..my very soul.
Now before I give you the impression that God keeps the eternal parts of us and throws the physical, tangible stuff to the side of the road, look at the second part of Psalm 46:1.
"A very present help in trouble."
A present help...
A "today" help...
A "right now" help.
God does bring His kingdom to bear in the lives of those who are a part of His family.
God does cover us with mercy and not allow the full weight and force of the enemy to be brought to bear on us. If there wasn't any mercy, the enemy would overwhelm us with all the wrath of hell because he hates God that much. He knows that he can't defeat God...so he sets out to do the next best thing.......destroy the creation that God loves so much.....us.
It is the mercy of God that keeps this old world from tipping over completely into spiritual darkness. It is the mercy of God that keeps extending the salvation message to those who don't know Him yet. It is the mercy of God and the compassion of God that is made new every morning, according to Lamentations 3:21
Even though we say that we know God acts in this fashion toward us, we have got to move this information from our brains to our hearts. We need to hold on to these verses, especially when times get tough or we find ourselves going through some hard lessons. God has not forgotten us or deserted us. He is a present help in trouble. Truth be known, God is the ultimate hiding place for us, His children. Psalm 91:1-2 tells us, "He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, ' He is my refuge and my fortress. My God, in Him I will trust."
Maybe your year hasn't turned out like you thought it would. Maybe you have been buffeted and tossed about by the situations and circumstances that have come your way. Now....today...is the time to lash yourself to this truth about God. Today is the day you dig your heels in and say, "I will trust God no matter what happens." It is my firm belief that God desires to reveal Himself to you as you do trust Him. May you find the reality of these words in your own life.
God on you.....
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