Man, time flies. It’s hard to believe it’s been over two weeks since I last posted on here. Sorry! Life has a tendency to slip by when we blink. Aside from all my schoolwork, reading, and ministry, I’ve done a lot of praying as of late. God isn’t letting me stay in one place. As soon as I learn one lesson new, it’s time to wrestle with the next one. In the words of a guy named Levi the Poet, “You know comfort is no good reason for standing still, and idle hands build nothing that you can call your own.”
I’ve found myself struggling to remember what I was wrestling with four or so days ago because God has been challenging me in so many areas. One thing He’s been showing me, particularly in the Psalms, has been this idea of God as our refuge. Life here can feel like war at times. Satan doesn’t like what we’re doing. Whether he uses attractive lies or clouded minds or relentless anxiety or creeping doubts, he’s been determined to hinder both the growth God is prompting and the furthering of the kingdom that results from it.
What am I to do? At times I’m tempted to resist by my own strength or willpower. ‘Resist the devil and he will flee from you’, right? But in spite of all my efforts, I’m still not strong enough to resist on my own. That’s why I’ve been drawn to God’s identity as our refuge. Over the last few weeks, I’ve been shown that I need one. I can’t survive in this war without it.
“For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence,
for my hope is from him.
He only is my rock and my salvation,
my fortress; I shall not be shaken.
On God rests my salvation and my glory;
my mighty rock, my refuge is God.
Trust in him at all times, O people;
pour out your heart before him;
God is a refuge for us. Selah” – Psalm 62:5-8
I used to have a thought in my head that having to lean on God for every battle we face was a sign of spiritual weakness. After all, shouldn’t I be able to handle more things on my own as I mature? But all throughout the Psalms, we see David (a man I’m sure none of us would dare call spiritually immature) clinging to God like he has nothing else to protect him. God was his retreat, his refuge.
I’ve been wrestling a lot with the concept of identity. Jesus should be the very core of my identity around which everything else centers (relationships, values, goals, desires). If He is my identity, the core of my being, why wouldn’t I take refuge in Him in every circumstance? To do anything else would be to put my identity and trust in something else.
Isn’t it so amazing that we’re able to do run to Him? The God of the universe offers Himself as a refuge for us. By virtue of significance, He shouldn’t even acknowledge our existence, let alone open His arms to protect us from the attacks of our enemies. But He does. He is our rock, our fortress, our salvation, our refuge. Think about that. Dwell on it. Let it drive you to praise the greatness of the LORD that would take the trouble to provide refuge for little people like us. He is our refuge.