TAKING REFUGE IN GOD

“The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; He knows those who take refuge in Him.” (Nahum 1:7 NIV)

I had two daughters who loved to swarm me when I came home at night. As I came in the door one evening, my little girls ran to meet me. One grabbed my leg and hugged me with all her might. I snatched the other daughter up in my arms. The one squeezing my leg said, "Now, I've got all of Daddy." The daughter in my arms replied, "Yes, but Daddy has got all of me!"

Perhaps the question we need to continually ask is, "Does God have all of me?"  

-- Dr. Alan Redpath, adapted 

#6114 

FACING THE STORMS OF LIFE

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
And lean not on your own understanding;
In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He shall direct your paths.”  (Proverbs 3:5-6 NKJV)

Life often brings unexpected storms -- challenges that test our faith and resilience. In these moments, it can be tempting to seek refuge in our own understanding, trying to navigate the tempest with our limited perspective. However, Proverbs 3:5-6 reminds us of a profound truth: our ultimate refuge and strength come from trusting in the Lord.

Religious faith is not merely a shelter from life’s storms; it is the inner strength that empowers us to face them with hope and serenity. When we trust in the Lord with all our heart, we acknowledge that His wisdom far surpasses our own. This trust is not passive but active, requiring us to lean into His guidance and surrender our need for control.

By acknowledging God in all our ways, we invite Him to direct our paths. This means seeking His will in every decision, big or small, and believing that He will lead us through the storm. It is in this surrender that we find peace, knowing that we are not alone and that God’s plans for us are good.

As we face the storms of life, let us remember that our faith is not a mere escape but a source of strength. Trusting in the Lord transforms our perspective, allowing us to see beyond the immediate turmoil to the greater purpose He has for us. With our hearts anchored in His promises, we can weather any storm, confident that He will guide us safely to calmer waters.

– SOUND BITES Ministry, compiled from a variety of sources

#5963

THE PSALMIST’S REMINDER

Tragedies can hit us like emotional earthquakes.  What can we do when shattering experiences come upon us?  "Come and see the works of the Lord" (Psalm 46:8), counsels the Psalmist.  When we contemplate the might and grace of God, we will have confidence that He will sustain us amid life's most devastating circumstances.

The Psalmist reminds us of:

- God's Protection: "God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble" (Psalm 46:1).

- God's Presence: "There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells" (Psalm 46:4).

- God's Power: "He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth; He breaks the bow and shatters the spear, He burns the shields with fire" (Psalm 46:9).

"Therefore we will not fear."  In contrast to the devastation about him, the Psalmist sees God's grace bringing sustenance to the believer.  We can experience this renewal by entering the stillness to which He directs us: "Be still, and know that I am God" (Psalm 46:10).

-- Colonel Henry Gariepy (1930–2010), The Salvation Army 

#5962

OUR REFUGE AND STRENGTH

NOTE: Today’s SOUND BITES is excerpted from a letter Pastor Jeramie Rinne wrote to his congregation on Sanibel Island on Sunday following the devastation of hurricane Ian. It is a good reminder to us all in whatever storms we may be facing.

OUR REFUGE AND STRENGTH

I haven’t had much time or capacity to reflect on the events of the past week. Most of my mental energy has been spent on trying to coordinate efforts, solve problems and find people. But this morning, sitting in my [hotel] bathroom office unable to sleep, I find myself in a rare moment of contemplation. I’m thinking about Psalm 46:

“God is our refuge and strength,
a helper who is always found in times of trouble.
Therefore we will not be afraid though the earth trembles
and the mountains topple into the depth of the sea,
though the water roars and foams
and the mountains quake with it turmoil.”

The Psalmist meant the roaring sea as a metaphor for turmoil and danger, particularly the danger of hostile nations around Israel. But this week we saw the literal referent for that metaphor. We saw the sea rise up and swallow homes, cars, bridges and lives. The storm cut the causeway islands in half. The incredible power of the sea flung boats and cars all over Iona. Ft Myers beach is completely devastated.

The Psalm describes an earth-shattering ocean storm. These verses will never again be an abstraction for us.

Yet we must not forget how the Psalm begins. “God is our refuge and strength, a helper who is always found in times of trouble.” God is our refuge. No storm touches God. God needs no insurance policy because He reigns above the flood. He is the only safe place. God is our strength. God never loses power or fuel. The Lord doesn’t feel anxious or perturbed and has no troubled thoughts about the future. Our heavenly Father is not passing through phases of shock, grief and despair. The Triune God dwells in perfect peace, joy and delight at all times. He is not exhausted or depleted. A helper who is always found. Unlike us, our God is not helpless. He isn’t stuck watching the news, imagining Himself renting a boat so He can sneak onto the island and do something. He is our helper who is always found in times of trouble. Trouble comes and goes. Hurricanes pass. But our helper never changes or leaves us. Even when our future is uncertain and our lives have been completely overturned, we know these things about God. He is almighty, He is eternal and He loves us.

No wonder the Psalmist can look into the tempest and say “Therefore we will not be afraid.” The psalmist is not in denial about the power of the storm. Rather he beholds the greatness and power and lovingkindness of our Lord toward us. God is infinitely willing and able to help His storm-tossed people. The fury of hurricane Ian is a gentle breeze compared to the might of our savior God. 

-- Pastor Jeramie Rinne, Sanibel Community Church, Sanibel Island, Florida

#5445

STOP, LOOK, LISTEN, AND TRUST - Part 2

“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… ‘Be still, and know that I am God.’”  (Psalm 46:1-2,10 NKJV)

Psalm 46 talks about earthquakes felling mountains, cities being destroyed, nations being in an uproar, kingdoms crumbling… The overall tone of the psalm is anything but quiet and still. One sentence, however, says to “be still” and the focal point of emotion changes from outside chaos to internal rest. That’s why the psalm was written as a song. It proclaimed a message everyone needed to hear.

Let the truth of this verse find a home in your heart today. When life gets busy or chaotic, it’s easy to get distracted. You wind up focusing on problems instead of the One who holds the answer to your problems in His hands. When that happens, stop. Focus on who God is and how much He loves you. Share your own heartfelt psalm of prayer with the God of power and compassion. Be still and know God is near. 

-- From “100 Favorite Bible Verses”

#5220

FULL OF SUFFERING

“Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean He no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death?... No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us. And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow -- not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love."  (Romans 8:35-38 NLT)

When you are sad, tired, lonely and full of suffering, take refuge in the sanctuary of your soul and there you will find your Brother, your Friend, Jesus, who will console you, support you and strengthen you. 

-- Charles de Foucauld in “Meditations of a Hermit”

#5053

OUR COMPANION IN OUR SUFFERING

“Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.”  (Psalm 23:4 NIV)

One of the ways in which Jesus is dear to Christians who pray is in His presence to them in times of trouble. For some, Jesus is a brother and companion, the one who accompanies them, who walks along the way with us, who has been where humans have been. He is the Jesus whom the Gospel of John presents as weeping for the death of His friend Lazarus, whom He loved; who sweats blood during the agony in the garden and wrestles with the will of God and the evil of the world, when all His friends have fallen asleep; who later that day cries out on the cross. For others, Jesus is the one who lifts burdens, who takes it from us so we do not have to bear it on our own. For many, He is both. Either way, Jesus is presence… Jesus is God made visible, God made human -- God close to our trials and our everyday life, not distant or uninvolved. This is not the fix-all God or the magician God. The God to whom or with whom we pray in our sufferings is not God as explanation, but God as companion -- a God who suffers and knows suffering…

God as companion in our suffering is both the One who suffers with us and the One on whom we lean. Psalm 46 says, “God is our refuge and strength, a vey present help in trouble.” 

-- Jane Redmont in “When in Doubt, Sing: Prayer in Daily Life”

#4841

THE REFUGE OF GOD

"The LORD is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in Him." (Nahum 1:7 NIV)

It is a blessed thing to find refuge in this turbulent world. There seem to be more people against you instead of for you on any given day or situation. And the truth is that many people seem to be looking for the edge to get over on someone or some situation. The world is indeed a dangerous arena to face. We need a place to run and hide and find solace from the storms that engulf our world. Indeed we must discover this little "secret refuge" or we continue to face the waves alone and end up battered and wounded…

Do you want to be a friend or a foe of God? Only a fool would choose the latter. Notice the key in seeking the refuge of God is that we trust Him… If we have some little (or big) area of our life in which we have failed to give it totally to God we find ourselves missing one of the most wonderful blessings of God - refuge in His arms…

Enjoy the refuge God so freely offers and take a respite from this world. But don't forget to tell your friends of this wonderful and blessed place to hide from the troubles of the world - at least for a little while to recharge!

-- Pastor Gary Stone


#4661

GOD’S PRESENCE BRINGS PEACE

"God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear… " (Psalm 46:1-2a NIV)

When I was a young child, shortly after the death of my mother, my father took me on vacation. We stayed at a small hotel overlooking a harbor. One night a storm was brewing out to sea and I watched the black clouds rolling closer toward the shore. It began to rain as I got ready for bed. My father was downstairs talking to some of the other guests, when a huge flash of lightning, followed by a deafening clap of thunder, made the lights go out. Frightened, I began to cry, wondering where my father was.

Then I heard my father’s voice calling to me as he came up the stairs. “Don’t be afraid, Joan, I’m here. Everything is all right.”

The sound of his reassuring voice took away all my fears, and his presence in the room enabled me to sleep peacefully, knowing he would protect me.

-- Joan Winmill Brown in “The Shelter of His Wings”

#4336

CALMING THE STORM

If you’ve ever been caught in a powerful storm [as I was with hurricane Jeanne in 2004], you know that chaos reigns… Swirling winds and flying debris. Chaos. That is what storms produce. Not just the ones that form in the sky, but also the ones that form in our lives.

I was reminded of this when I spoke with a young woman whose marriage is in deep trouble because of her husband’s infidelity. Her swirling emotions have her leaning first one way and then another. One day she wants to fight her husband, and the next day she wants to strangle him. And talk about flying debris! The verbal hand grenades they’re lobbing at each other are throwing shrapnel and leaving wounds that will likely take years to heal.

Can you relate? Are you caught in a storm of your own right now? Do you find that shifting emotional winds have you leaning first one way and then another? Have you been coldcocked by flying debris? Have things become so confusing that you don’t even know what’s right anymore? And are you so weary of it all that you almost don’t even care? If so, remember that our Lord’s words can bring order out of chaos…

Right now, before the storm batters you another day, I urge you to cast your lot with the psalmist, who said, “I am counting on the Lord; yes, I am counting on Him. I have put my hope in His word.” (Psalm 130:5)

His words calm storms.

-- Mark Atteberry in “Free Refill: Coming Back to Jesus for More”

#4161

A CENTRAL VERSE IN OUR LIVES

Did you know that Psalm 118 is the middle of the entire Bible? Psalm 117, before Psalm 118, is the shortest chapter in the Bible. Psalm 119, after Psalm 118, is the longest chapter in the Bible. The Bible has 594 chapters before Psalm 118 and 594 chapters after Psalm 118. If you add up all the chapters except Psalm 118, you get a total of 1188 Chapters. Psalm 118 verse 8 is the middle verse of the entire Bible. Should the central verse then not have an important message? No matter how you look at it, this should be a central verse in our lives! "It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to rely on human beings." (Psalm 118:8)

-- Unknown


#4130

CALLING ON GOD

To enter God's refuge, we must first call out to God.  Psalm 91:15 says, "He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor him."

For the life of me, I can't figure out how this calling-on-God thing works, but it does.  The Bible tells us to walk by faith, not by sight, and this is one of those times when we can't understand why something works, we can only trust in God and then be delighted when we experience it.

For centuries now, Christians have poured out their hearts to the Lord and found treasured moments of refuge.  This is incredibly good news.  We don't have to get out a map, calculate how far away each one of the cities of refuge is, and then embark on a journey.  We don't have to drive to a monastery.  We don't have to call a minister.  We don't have to wait until the next church service.  The front seat of our cars will work nicely.  Our offices, our homes, our construction trailers -- they're all as good as the most elaborate cathedral.  We can access the refuge of God anytime, anywhere.  All we have to do is to acknowledge our need, move from self-sufficiency to dependence, and ask God to become our hiding place.

-- Bill Hybels in “The God You're Looking For”


#4111

OUR ALL-SUFFICIENT GOD

"God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble." (Psalm 46:2 NKJV)


God wants us to realize that He is our everything. He is our sufficiency. We need to come to Him and trust Him in every situation.


-- David Robinson, in Sports Spectrum




#3727

MAKE GOD YOUR REFUGE

"Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me!
For my soul trusts in You;
And in the shadow of Your wings I will make my refuge." (Psalm 57:1)

Make God your refuge.  Not your job, your spouse, your reputation, or your retirement account.  Make God your refuge.  Let Him… encircle you.  Let Him be the ceiling that breaks the sunshine, the walls that stop the wind, the foundation on which you stand.

-- Max Lucado in Facing Your Giants


#3286

GOD IS OUR HELP

"God is our refuge and strength,
always ready to help in times of trouble.
So we will not fear when earthquakes come
and the mountains crumble into the sea.
Let the oceans roar and foam.
Let the mountains tremble as the waters surge!" (Psalm 46:1-3)

An idol is anything you turn to for help when God told you to turn to Him for help. 

-- Henry Blackaby


#3247

A SAFE HAVEN

It s in our nature to seek shelter from a storm, whether atmospheric or economic. We read many instances in the Old Testament in which famine drove people to turn back to God. And… in the midst of… economic crisis, we read reports of increasing attendance at many congregations.

Times of trouble also cause people to shift their spending. Extravagant luxuries give way to more practical, generic items -- the simple basics. That shift in spending reminds us of Jesus' words, "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth… but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven… For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." (Matthew 6:19-21)

Economic crisis can lead people to reassess their values, changing their focus to family, friends, and a more meaningful purpose in life. As people come back to the basics of the soul… stand ready to provide the aid and comfort… for all those seeking refuge along the Christian journey. "For you have been a refuge to the poor, a refuge to the needy in their distress, a shelter from the rainstorm, and a shade from the heat." (Isaiah 25:4)

-- from Cokesbury: Resources for the Christian Journey, 2009-2010 Catalogue


#3104

A SAFE HAVEN

It s in our nature to seek shelter from a storm, whether atmospheric or economic. We read many instances in the Old Testament in which famine drove people to turn back to God. And even today, in the midst of our current economic crisis, we read reports of increasing attendance at many congregations.

Times of trouble also cause people to shift their spending. Extravagant luxuries give way to more practical, generic items -- the simple basics. That shift in spending reminds us of Jesus' words, "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth… but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven… For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." (Matthew 6:19-21)

Economic crisis can lead people to reassess their values, changing their focus to family, friends, and a more meaningful purpose in life. As people come back to the basics of the soul… stand ready to provide the aid and comfort… for all those seeking refuge along the Christian journey. "For you have been a refuge to the poor, a refuge to the needy in their distress, a shelter from the rainstorm, and a shade from the heat." (Isaiah 25:4)

-- from Cokesbury: Resources for the Christian Journey, 2009-2010 Catalogue


#2802

AN AVALANCHE OF GOD'S POWER

Sometimes avalanches have been started by a skier just shouting a few words. It only needs a small amount of snow to be disturbed by that shout, and soon thousands of tons of snow will be thundering down the mountainside. In the same way a few words spoken to God our Father in Jesus' name can set off an "avalanche" of God's power in any part of the world. Even when we think our prayers are small and weak, God can use them if we trust in Him, because He is so powerful.

-- Jill Johnstone in You Can Change the World


#2529

Note: Today (May 6, 2010) is the National Day of Prayer in the U.S. Please join folks from around the country in prayer. "The Lord is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in Him." (Nahum 1:7) In proclaiming this the National Day of Prayer, President Obama wrote, "I call upon the citizens of our Nation to pray, or otherwise give thanks, in accordance with their own faiths and consciences, for our many freedoms and blessings, and I invite all people of faith to join me in asking for God’s continued guidance, grace, and protection as we meet the challenges before us." Please prayer for our city, county, state, and federal leaders.

OUR REFUGE AND STRENGTH

"The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold." (Psalm 18:2)

That person is perfect in faith who can come to God in the utter dearth of his/her feelings and desires, without a glow or an aspiration, with the weight of low thoughts, failures, neglects, and wondering forgetfulness, and say to God, "You are my refuge."

-- George MacDonald, adapted


#2470

OUR REFUGE AND STRENGTH

"God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling." -- Psalm 46:1-3 (ESV)

God is not a deceiver, that He should offer to support us, and then, when we lean upon Him, should slip away from us.

-- St. Augustine


#2386