God Is Our Refuge

GOD IS OUR REFUGE

By Rodney W. Francis

“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, even though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; though its waters roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with its swelling. Selah” (Psalm 46:1-3).

Here we have just one of the many promises of God that He is our refuge (“a shelter, a place of safety”) and our strength (“might, power of God, prevailing strength by which dominion is usually obtained” – Wilson’s Old Testament Word Studies).

There are many advantages to being a totally committed Christian to the purposes of God. One of them is that He watches over us, to keep us in the way of the Lord, no matter what comes against us. Make no mistake about it: true Christians will suffer criticisms, rejections, false accusations, persecutions, etc., because we are led by a totally different spirit to that of the world. In these days of increasing persecution against true Christians it is very important that we do not allow fear to control our life. Fear is a weapon of the enemy to bring us into subjection to what he wants. Jesus came to set us free from the power of fear and evil. Hallelujah! God’s answer to fear is His LOVE working in our lives ~ “perfect love casts out fear” (1 John 4:11-21). It is very important that we know definitely in our heart that Christ now loves us, lives in us, and He is with us wherever we go. He has promised to “Never leave us, nor forsake us”. It then goes on to declare: “So we may boldly say: ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?’” (Hebrews 13:5-6). Walking with Jesus on a daily basis means we will have many opportunities to prove the truth of these promises of God.

MORE WONDERFUL PROMISES

Here are some more wonderful promises for you to rejoice in: “The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms; He will thrust out the enemy from before you . . .” (Deuteronomy 33:27). “The Lord is my rock and my fortress (“stronghold”) and my deliverer (“to deliver fully”); the God of my strength, in whom I will trust; my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold and my refuge; my Saviour, You save me from violence. I will call upon the Lord, Who is worthy to be praised; so shall I be saved from my enemies” (2 Samuel 22:2-4, whole chapter worth reading). “The Lord also will be a refuge (“secure height”) for the oppressed(“to be shattered, bruised or crushed”), a refuge in times of trouble, and those who know Your name will put their trust (“to be secure without fear”) in You; For You, Lord, have not forsaken those who seek You. Sing praises to the Lord, Who dwells in Zion! Declare His deeds among the people” (Psalm 9:9-11). “He who dwells (“to remain, abide, tarry”) 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’ . . . ‘Because you have made the Lord, Who is my refuge, even the Most High, your dwelling place, no evil shall befall you, nor shall any plague come near your dwelling; for He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways” (see Psalm 91).

OUR RESPONSIBILITY

These are just a few of the many great promises given to us by God in the Bible. Our responsibility is to be yielded to Him in such a way that we can prove these promises to be very true in our life’s experiences. I know for me, God has proven Himself over and over with His promises, and we have seen His hand at work in protecting us, providing for us, in leading and guiding us in such a way that we are today touching multiplied thousands of lives around the world in over 200 nations. It has all happened because we have believed what He has spoken to us and asked of us. Praise the Lord! We are continually amazed at how God provides for us (as we do not know where our next dollar is coming from), and how He protects us from those who would like to silence us from sharing the message of Jesus Christ, His love and power through the Mighty Holy Spirit.

We can know or have no greater place of Refuge than in Jesus Christ. No one else can provide and protect us like He does. All we have to do is to believe His promises and show Him by our actions that we believe what He says to us personally, and through His Word the Bible.

This generation of Christians desperately needs to see and experience the supernatural power of God, His signs, wonders and miracles, in such a way that we cannot doubt Who He is and what He can do in these days through those who are yielded to His will and purposes. When you see a miracle of God right before your eyes it does something positive to your faith! The Bible even declares: “These signs will follow those who believe (“be persuaded, to rely upon, to trust” – Bullinger’s): in My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover” (see Mark 16:15-20).

We only have to study the lives of the disciples of Jesus before and after the Day of Pentecost (when they received the infilling of the Holy Spirit). The Holy Spirit empowered them to do things they had never done before. Yes, they suffered criticism and persecution, but Jesus was their Refuge and He kept them alive, safe and secure (unless their time on this earth was up). They all carried personal testimonies of their personal relationship and experiences with God that impacted thousands of lives, causing many of the unsaved hearers to repent and believe the Gospel too. God was indeed their Refuge and Strength!

HOW WILLING AND AVAILABLE TO GOD ARE YOU?

Today, God is looking to you and me to so believe and trust Him that He can use us in dynamic and supernatural ways to impact our generation with the truth and power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ through the Mighty Holy Spirit ~ now resident within us ~ Praise the Lord! God is looking to you and me to represent Him on the earth today in the way He chooses.

How available are you to be His representative His way?
Do you know that He is your Refuge and Strength?
Do you know that “Greater is He Who is in you (Jesus Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit), than he (the enemy) that is in the world” (1 John 4:4)?
With Jesus resident within us, wherever we go there can be divine possibilities for God. Praise the Lord!

Let us make sure that we are willing and available for God’s purposes today. There is no greater joy, satisfaction or fulfilment than to know and prove the will of God (Romans 12:1-2) and to be doing it day by day. When we are walking and living in personal relationship and partnership with Jesus Christ, then we know that He is indeed our Refuge and our Strength. He is alive today to fulfil His promises within those who love and trust Him through a total commitment to Him.

As this old world slides more and more downhill away from God, with all kinds of storms, floods, fires, earthquakes and catastrophes happening in an increasing way, make very sure that you know and prove God to be your Refuge and Strength Who is able to keep you ~ no matter what comes against you. He loves you dearly and is watching over you, His wonders to perform. No matter what comes against you, be encouraged to press in closer to Jesus, rise up in His Name and Strength to be that overcomer He has called you to be.

Let me remind you of all the great men and women in the Bible: they all went through all kinds of opposition and persecution, but God brought them through them all, even using the enemy’s tactics to refine them and even getting them to where He had spoken to them years before. For example, Joseph would never have accomplished what he did in Egypt if it had not been for his jealous brothers rejecting and selling him. The result of their evil actions was God raising Joseph up with authority over all the land of Egypt (see Genesis Chapters 37 to 50). But all the way through those times God was Joseph’s Refuge and Strength. He won in the end. Hallelujah! And so can you! God bless you!

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