Habakkuk 2

Then the Lord replied: "Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets so that a herald may run with it. For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay."

Friday, March 27, 2020

My Refuge is God


Psalm 62:1-2 ESV

“For God alone my soul waits in silence;
    from him comes my salvation.
He alone is my rock and my salvation,
    my fortress; I shall not be greatly shaken.”

Do you read the news each day? Do you watch it on TV? Or, do you watch YouTube videos on the crisis? Do you get on social media, too, and read up about what is going on in the world? Or, what they want you to believe is going on in the world? Or, what the general populace’s opinions are supposedly about, regarding what they think is going on in the world?

As a side note: We need to know that there is a difference sometimes or oftentimes between reality and what is being reported. Pray and ask the Lord about that one, please!

It is not only depressing to read or to watch the whole saga of what is going on, or what is being purported as going on, but it can be very confusing, too, as the stories keep changing. And, it feels sometimes like a game of table tennis with the ball continually being hit back and forth from side to side.

If we allow ourselves to get caught up in all the upheaval and all the emotionalism of the situation from day to day, it can play havoc with our minds, with our faith, and with our emotional stability, too. For, some days it seems like what is being reported is “all over the map.”

So, what do we do? How are we to respond? Should we read every article and every opinion on the situation at hand? Or should we watch TV news incessantly, afraid that if we don’t that we might miss something important? And, should we believe everything we see or hear in the news no matter who says it? Or, should we give our total loyalty to what appears to be one side of the situation or the other?

I believe we have our answer to those questions right here in this psalm. Our God and Savior Jesus Christ is our only salvation in times like these, or any time. He alone is the Rock on which we are to place our trust and our dependence. He alone is to be our strength and our support, not the government or the news media or the wealthy and powerful or even some pastors, all of whom could very well be lying to us and deceiving us.

Psalm 62:3-4 ESV

“How long will all of you attack a man
    to batter him,
    like a leaning wall, a tottering fence?
They only plan to thrust him down from his high position.
    They take pleasure in falsehood.
They bless with their mouths,
    but inwardly they curse. Selah”

We are not to place our trust in human beings, making the assumption that they are all telling us the truth of the matter.

For, if we believe the scriptures, and if we believe prophecy of scripture, we have to know that we have an enemy out there who is out to get us any which way that he can. And, we have to know that he has people working for him who are antichrist and whose goal it is to destroy us, not to help us.

And, we have to believe that a beast is on the rise and that he/it is conquering nations and peoples, and its goal is to bring us all into a one world order and a one world religion.

And, if we believe that, we have to acknowledge that there are liars and deceivers within our governments, within the news media, and among people in positions of wealth and power in the world, and even among the leadership in some of our churches.

So, we should not be so naïve as to believe whatever we hear or we think we see, for anything can be faked these days. Deception abounds!

Actors abound, too, whose goal it is to deceive us into believing their lies. So, we need to take what we hear in the news, or coming from the mouths of politicians, and even from pastors, “with a grain of salt.” We need to be discerning people, in other words, by taking it all to the Lord in prayer.

Psalm 62:5-8 ESV

“For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence,
    for my hope is from him.
He only is my rock and my salvation,
    my fortress; I shall not be shaken.
On God rests my salvation and my glory;
    my mighty rock, my refuge is God.

“Trust in him at all times, O people;
    pour out your heart before him;
    God is a refuge for us. Selah”

Bottom line in all of this? We need to make God our trust and our refuge, not other human beings. And, we need to rest in the Lord through all of this upheaval, no matter the outcome. And, we need to not let other humans get us in a tizzy over what may be true, or over what may be a lie disguised as truth, but which is in order to accomplish an agenda for world domination.

We need to be reasonable in the amount of information that we take into our minds and hearts, and we should not confine our information to all one source. And, then we need to take what information we are receiving to the Lord in prayer, seeking his guidance and counsel so that we don’t end up following after lies thinking we are believing the truth.

We also need to find our hope only in the Lord, not in the promises of politicians, and not in the promise of a stimulus check, or in their remedies to what appears to be a global crisis. We need to not put our hope and trust in modern medicine, either, especially if we believe the scriptures with regard to our enemy who is like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour.

I am not saying that we should regard everything as a lie that doesn’t come straight from the Bible, but that we need to be realistic, that we need to live what we say we believe, and that we need to exercise much spiritual discernment in these matters so that we are not caught in the enemy’s trap.

Discerning Spirits

So, rather than just believing whatever you read or hear, pray for a discerning spirit to know what is true and what is false, for much deception is out there. And, it comes in all different shapes, sizes and colors, too.

But, if you want discernment in these matters, then you also need to be walking with the Lord in his righteousness, and you need to not be giving the devil a foothold in your life, or you are not going to be discerning.

Then, put your total trust in the Lord. Spend much time with him in his word and in prayer. Listen to what he says, and then make it your practice to do what he says to do. Ask for his guidance and counsel, and then be willing to hear whatever it is he wants to say to you. But, test what you hear against the scriptures, in context, to make certain it is the Lord you are hearing.

Make the Lord your fortress and your refuge and not human beings or institutions of men. If you do make the Lord your trust, then when trials come, or when things get much worse, you will not be shaken because you have built your house on the Rock, which is Christ, and not on sinking sand.

In the Garden

Lyrics and Music by Charles A. Miles, 1913

I come to the garden alone,
While the dew is still on the roses,
And the voice I hear falling on my ear
The Son of God discloses.

He speaks, and the sound of His voice
Is so sweet the birds hush their singing,
And the melody that He gave to me
Within my heart is ringing.

I’d stay in the garden with Him,
Though the night around me be falling,
But He bids me go; through the voice of woe
His voice to me is calling.

And He walks with me, and He talks with me,
And He tells me I am His own;
And the joy we share as we tarry there,
None other has ever known.

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