“Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge.”
Psalm 16:1
This morning my thoughts are drawn to the faithfulness of our God when we take refuge in Him. Choosing to take refuge in our Lord is a beautiful act of faith and humility. It is a display of our belief that He will act for us and a rejection of the thought that we can take care of everything on our own.
Psalm 18:2-3 says, “The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised, and I am saved from my enemies.” Such a declaration of the strength of our God, that He is able not only to withstand any force that comes against us, but to overcome every enemy at His will. As Psalm 48:3 says, “God has made himself known as a fortress.” He will make Himself known as such for you, in exactly the place where you are. A fortress that is strong and steadfast, one that will not fail.
Those who take refuge in the Lord will not be put to shame. They will not be abandoned or let down. While we do not know the way that God will come through for us, He will come through. In glory and power and grace. We will not look back and wish we had done things on our own, because God’s purposes, the plans of His heart, are so much better than we can imagine.
So today, whatever temptations or difficulties or pain we may face, let us take refuge in the Lord our God, our truth and our hope and our strength. “Now I know that the LORD saves his anointed; he will answer him from his holy heaven with the saving might of his right hand. Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God. They collapse and fall, but we rise and stand upright” (Psalm 20:6-8).
“In my distress I called upon the LORD;
to my God I cried for help.
From his temple he heard my voice,
and my cry to him reached his ears.
Then the earth reeled and rocked;
the foundations also of the mountains trembled
and quaked, because he was angry…
He bowed the heavens and came down;
thick darkness was under his feet.
He rode on a cherub and flew;
he came swiftly on the wings of the wind…
Out of the brightness before him
hailstones and coals of fire broke through his clouds.
The LORD also thundered in the heavens,
and the Most High uttered his voice,
hailstones and coals of fire…
He sent from on high, he took me;
he drew me out of many waters.
He rescued me from my strong enemy
and from those who hated me,
for they were too mighty for me…
He brought me out into a broad place;
he rescued me, because he delighted in me.”
Psalm 18:6-19
In Pleasant Places 