December
10, 2003
A
PRESENT HELP IN TROUBLE
"God
is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear" (Psalm 46:1, 2, NKJV).
David
often referred to God as his refuge and strength. "I
will sing of Your power,-- For You have been my defense and
refuge in the day of my trouble... In God is my salvation
and my glory; The rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in
God. Trust in Him at all times, you people; Pour out your
heart before Him; God is a refuge for us... He is my refuge
and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust. -He shall deliver
you from the snare of the fowler and from the perilous pestilence.
He shall cover you with His feathers, and under His wings
you shall take refuge; His truth shall be your shield and
buckler. You shall not be afraid of the terror by night---
nor the destruction that lays waste at noonday" (Psalm
59:16; 62:7, 8; 91:2-6, and more). Isaiah and Jeremiah also
speak of God as a refuge from the storm and as a strength
to the needy in distress (see Isaiah 25:4; Jeremiah 16:19).
"A
very present help in trouble." God promises to be with
us, so He is aware of our circumstances at all times. We do
not understand how this can be, but we know what the scriptures
tell us."Lo, I am with you always,
even to the end of the age... I -- pray --for those who will
believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one,
as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may
be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me.
And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they
may be one just as We are one: I in them, and You in Me; that
they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know
that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved
Me... If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father
will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with
him".(Matthew 18:20; John 17:20-23; 14:23).
The promises
of God are sure. We are to keep close to the Source of our
strength day by day, and when adversity comes in like a flood
the Spirit of the Lord is there to lift up a standard for
us against the enemy. We may be confident for the future only
as we stay close to the source of our strength and live by
His values. By the exercise of living faith in the power of
our Protector we may overcome the trials and adversities of
life.
Like
the Psalmist we may say, "God
is our refuge and strength. He is present with us in trouble.
Therefore we need not fear."
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