In The Lord I Take Refuge

"Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge.

I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord;

    I have no good apart from you.”

As for the saints in the land, they are the excellent ones,

    in whom is all my delight.

The sorrows of those who run after another god shall multiply;

    their drink offerings of blood I will not pour out

    or take their names on my lips.

The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup;

    you hold my lot.

The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;

    indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.

"I bless the Lord who gives me counsel;

    in the night also my heart instructs me.

I have set the Lord always before me;

    because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.

Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices;

    my flesh also dwells secure.

For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol,

    or let your holy one see corruption.

You make known to me the path of life;

    in your presence there is fullness of joy;

    at your right hand are pleasures forevermore." (Psalms 16:1-11 ESV)

Let God be God

We all go through stuff, don’t we? And much of it is stuff we really have no control over, especially in this age of AI and computers, for pretty much all communications and business dealings these days are via electronic and computerized devices. And even if we didn’t want to participate in the world of the internet, so many of us have been forced into it because this is the way most things are being done these days. 

So some people end up getting their accounts compromised due to no negligence of their own, and then we have these organizations which are standing there off to the side fully ready to be our “savior” and to protect us from those kinds of things taking place again. But who are those people? Can they be trusted? Could they be “wolves in sheep’s clothing”? Absolutely! And many of them probably are opportunists who either create situations and/or who sit like lions ready and waiting to devour anyone, who then pounce on anyone who has reported an account being compromised.

And this is just one example of how we can be put in situations beyond our control and where we are being encouraged to put our trust in strangers to “protect” us from harm. And so it is risky to make that choice to trust in strangers who may or who may not have our best interest in mind. And so this is one incident where we pray, “Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge.” For truly the Lord is the only one fully worthy of our trust.

So, before we take the next step in whatever situation we find ourselves in, we need to pray, and we need to seek God’s face, and we need to seek the counsel of God and what he would have us do, for we may just be trading one situation for another, and the other could turn out to be worse. So, we must take refuge in the Lord and then trust him to lead us and to guide us in the way that we should go. For different is not necessarily better.

And, although following in the ways of the Lord does not promise us “smooth sailing,” and that nothing bad will happen to us, if we don’t seek the counsel of the Lord, and if we don’t go the way he has counseled us, but we choose to go our own way, instead, and to run after “another god” to save us from what ails us, then our sorrows indeed could multiply, and not only did we not improve our situation, but we made it so much worse. 

So, we need to be those who put our complete trust in the Lord in all things, and in every situation in our lives, and who follow the Lord Jesus with our lives, and who do not run after the gods of this world, and who do not put our trust in humans above putting our trust in the Lord. And we need to let the Lord guide us in our decision-making processes so that we don’t end up going in the wrong direction.

For God’s ways are the only right way, and his ways are the only way to eternity with God in heaven and true deliverance from our bondage to sin. But it isn’t just about sin and salvation and heaven at stake here, although that is the most critical. But this is about taking all our questions and concerns and difficulties to the Lord in prayer and us seeking his counsel and direction so that we don’t end up going in the opposite direction from where he is leading us, and possibly end up in worse situations.

Where Could I Go?

By J. B. Coats

Living below in this old sinful world,

Hardly a comfort can afford;

Striving alone to face temptation sore,

Where could I go but to the Lord?

Where could I go? Oh, where could I go

Seeking a refuge for my soul?

Needing a friend to save me in the end,

Where could I go but to the Lord?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QpuVZBv4OsM 

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