Refuge

“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way…” Psalm 46:1-2

Has God been your refuge, a place you can run to, in this time a trouble? Has He been your strength? Has he been “a very present help” to you lately?

I admit that sometimes in my life I struggle with these questions. And it is not because God isn’t all those things, but usually because I’m too wrapped up in my own ways of “medicating” through difficult times.

Last night, I watched Fox News and then NBC News for the first time, I think, since before the last election. I know, I’m a bad person or a crazy person. How do I stay informed?! Truth is that I have been fine. But last night, watching the news, sent me reeling. So much information and so many stories of stress and heartache that I started freaking out. I don’t see anyone watches the news, or listens to it on the radio, without running into despair.

You’d think I’d tell you to stop watching or listening to the news or to stop getting on social media or the Internet and filling your minds with panic. And while I don’t think it’s a bad idea to at least cut down on your consumption, it’s not the total problem. The problem is that we are running to the news to find peace. We are escaping into social media to find rest. We are frantically searching through the internet to find help.

I’ve been walking with the Lord for over 30 years now, and have seen God show up in amazing ways in my life and in the lives of others–so much so that my belief in Him does not waver much, and yet, I still wander off. I find myself scrambling for answers or for peace in other things. I create my own constructs in my head to deal with my current problems (or especially my recurring problems), so much so that I miss the God who is our “ever-present help in trouble” and my “refuge and strength.”

Spend some time confessing that you turn to other things to be your help. Ask the Lord to be your refuge and strength, and to be your very present help in this situation. Now, don’t just finish reading this and move on with your day. But actually stop and sit with the Lord in prayer. Make sure your give all these things over to Him and set him on the throne of your life.