“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; ye people, pour out your heart before him: God is a refuge for us.
Selah” (Psalm 62:7-8).
In salvation I find comfort and love from my Lord
and Savior, Jesus Christ. He is the rock I lean on in times of trouble and
glorify in times of joy. He is my refuge and my strength, which I pour out my
heart in earnest desire to feel His presence and to hear His voice through the
Holy Spirit in times of trouble.
I totally and honestly love the Lord with all my
heart. I feel guilty though, a lot, for the sins I continue to do, even though I
don’t want to do them, just as the apostle Paul said in Romans
7:15-18:
“For that which I do I allow not: for what I would,
that do I not; but what I hate, that do I. If then I do that which I
would not, I consent unto the law that it is good. Now then
it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no
good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is
good I find not.”
I am by far not a perfect man. I make mistakes every
day in thoughts, words and actions the moment I do, I regret it, knowing it was
sin in me that took over for that one moment leading me to say, think or do
something I knew I shouldn’t have, and I feel like I disappointed the Lord.
Yet I know that God is my salvation and my rock. He
is quick to forgive and is steadfast in His love for me, and for you. He loved us so much that He sent His only son
down to earth to live with us and teach us of God’s love and then His son,
Jesus, died for our sins.
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only
begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have
everlasting life” (John 3:16).
What strength and love that is from God, to give His
only Son to us, to make a way for us to be connected to God through Jesus’
sacrifice of Himself to forgive our sins? It shows He is a great and loving God.
By Jesus’ sacrifice, He made a way, a path for us by grace to have a
relationship with Him for everlasting life—as long as we believe, truly believe,
that He died and rose from the grave three days later to defeat death and offer
us eternity through Him.
Because of His sacrifice, because God loved us so
much, I know that He is the rock of my strength, the sturdy hand I can hold to
get through each day, each week, and each hour. Without His strength I am just a
feather in the wind, letting the wind take me this way and that way with no set
destination, just floating through life without direction.
God is the God and ruler of the universe and yet he
cares for me, and for you. Each one of us is important to Him. We are the “apple
of His eye” in the entire universe, made in the likeness of Him for His pleasure
to watch us grow with Him, live for Him and rely on Him to take care of us—to be
our refuge in times of trouble and pain, and to share our
successes.
Have you ever been in that position? Ever been in so
much pain—emotional, physical, etc., that all you could do was cry out to the
Lord? Even non-believers cry out to God when in times of trouble, but often they
don’t cry for refuge, they cry out of anger thinking that God is the cause of
their troubles, when in fact—God can be the refuge for their troubles. God is
there to comfort us, to love us, and protect our souls from the troubles of
life. All you have to do is believe in Him, that He is real, and that He cares
for you unconditionally.
We are not ants that God enjoys stomping on or
toying with for His pleasure. Through His grace and power He has breathed life
into us by giving us souls with consciousness and morality. God’s signature is written on all our hearts.
Whether a believer or not, we all have an inherent knowledge of right or
wrong.
Once you find God, once He becomes your mighty rock
to hold on to and to stand with, do you find that you are more than flesh and
bones with only a knowledge of right or wrong?
You become a changed person trusting in the Lord to be there for you in
those times of trouble when you can’t bear it on your own.
Once we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior and pour
our hearts out to Him and ask forgiveness of our sins we become true children of
God. He becomes our strength and our rock that we can lean on, cling to, in this
world we call earth and all the troubles that come with living in this fallen
world.
Each one of us faces troubles, some more often than
others. We are persecuted in our own ways. People are harsh to us, take
advantage of us, do their best to hurt us both emotionally and sometimes,
physically. Some people have grown up in abusive homes, some in loving homes.
Some people learned that life is about taking care of number one (themselves)
and others learned that life is full of opportunities to excel and succeed to
gain a name for themselves and to gain as much as they can (such as material
goods).
And yes, some people grew up knowing God from an
early age. Regardless of your background, regardless of how good or bad your
life is, we all face troubles and seek ways to relieve our troubles.
Some people relieve their troubles through revenge.
Some find refuge in drugs and alcohol. Some find refuge in sexual escapades.
Some find relief and refuge in their careers; the list can go on and on. I
propose though, and many have found, that true refuge comes from the strength
and grace found in Jesus Christ yes, Jesus Christ.
We can’t see Him, we can’t touch Him, but if you
know Him in your heart, you know He is real. He is the rock we can hold on to
when we are sinking in the quicksand of life, when we have nowhere else to turn,
we can turn to Him. He is there to lift us up, to give us refuge from life’s
troubles. Will He solve all your problems? Will He take revenge for you against
those that did you wrong? No, but He is there to comfort us and wrap us up with
His love to give us assurance that we are being taken care
of.
If you have Jesus and take refuge in Him, you see
situations differently. Your refuge won’t be the same as it used to be. You can
find comfort and joy in the Lord. You find forgiveness to others. You learn to
love others, regardless of problems with them. You will look at your troubles
and will take refuge in Jesus over all the other ways you tried
before.
Again, all your problems won’t be solved, but your
attitude toward them will be. By having God as your rock, refuge, and strength,
you will have the means to face troubles knowing that God will not forsake you
nor abandon you. As Hebrews 12:11 says:
“Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be
joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of
righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.”
We can take comfort that our troubles are temporary
and occur to bring us closer to Jesus and to help us gain strength in our
relationship with Him.
There is a lesson to be learned here. The lesson is if we did not have
troubles, if we did not have hard times, if bad things didn’t happen to us, then
we wouldn’t need to seek the Lord. Does God throw glass on the floor while you
are barefooted just so you will seek Him to avoid the glass?
No. We live in a fallen world full of sin and bad people who are evil and do
evil things; people who don’t know our loving Father. But God is there, always,
for us to seek the refuge of his protection of our souls and the comfort we need
to get through the tough times that life and the world throw at us.
I didn’t believe in Jesus for the first thirty or so years of my life. I
believed in a higher power and had my own ideas of what heaven was and how to
get there. I also believed that God liked to mess with me by throwing obstacles
in my way in life: a bill I couldn’t pay, a person whom I hated, poor health,
and a job I despised.
I found refuge and relief in everything but God. I felt that God was pushing
me away from Him, that He didn’t want me; that I was so bad He couldn’t love me.
What I now know was that God was trying to get my attention through the troubles
of my life. He was always there for me, trying to draw me to Him, but I didn’t
seek Him. I was relying on myself to solve my problems while God was waiting for
me to only just turn to Him and seek Him for strength and refuge from my
troubles.
For thirty-plus years, Satan did a good job of keeping me from my Lord and
Savior. Grace, I didn’t even know what grace is. I thought it was just a name
like my grandmother’s name: Grace. Through great prayer from my family and
through the urging of my wife to go to church with her, I began to recognize
that God was not who I thought He was.
My heart began to soften and instead of daydreaming at church, I actually
began to listen to what the story of salvation is. God began to break through my
heart because I changed my attitude from hostility toward God, to wanting to
learn more about this God. The God being preached about who is caring, loving,
strengthening and, what hit home for me—is that He is a refuge for
troubles.
I learned that God was the missing link in my life that I needed to get
through my troubles. I realized that through Him, through Jesus Christ, I could
find strength and refuge in Him for my troubles. I began to turn to God for strength and
comfort. I began to want God in earnest and I got saved and the Holy Spirit
became part of my being.
Prior to being saved, I was mostly angry at God for all my health problems. I
hated Him for allowing me to have so much trouble with my health, all the
ailments I had, all the medicine I was taking, and all the side effects from
them: I just despised Him. Then after I was saved, I found that even though I
have all these health problems, I could find strength and comfort in God. He became my refuge and strength. And when my
health began to get worse, I found comfort in Him and strength in Him to endure.
I found that through my troubles, not only my health troubles, but all sorts
of trouble, I could rely on Jesus to be my rock, my strength, and my refuge to
seek when I feel overwhelmed by life’s troubles. I found that with my heart
changed by accepting Jesus, my troubles did the opposite of what they used to
do; instead of pushing me away from God, they brought me closer to God. With
Jesus as my strength and refuge, I found in times of trouble, my relationship
with Jesus is strengthened, not diminished.
Glory to God for this!
For those who are not saved, if you don’t know Jesus, you face the same
troubles as the rest of those who are saved and know and have Jesus in their
hearts and lives. Troubles will always be there. No matter what you do, don’t
do, avoid, or don’t avoid, troubles are always around the corner because we live
in a fallen world full of horrible things and people.
Having Jesus in your life as your strength and refuge will change how you
look at troubles. You will no longer fear the bad times. You won’t be moved by
what wrenches life and the world will through into the gears of your life. Jesus
will be there for you, to comfort you and to help you through those rough
patches you are going through.
The Holy Spirit will be there to help you work through the tough times. The
Holy Spirit will give you the guidance you need, as long as you listen, to get
through tough times, troubles, and every other problem thrown your way. All you
need to do is accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior and you will attain what a
lot of people don’t have: Assurance, refuge, and strength in Christ.
Time is short here on earth. You don’t have much time left to make your
choice. If you need motivation to come to Jesus, let your life’s troubles lead
you to the cross, to Jesus. Let your
guard down, as I did, and be receptive to the words of God and the grace
bestowed upon you by the sacrifice Jesus made for you to wash your sins
clean.
It took trouble in my life to lead me to Jesus, and I fought and screamed the
whole way there. Yet when I finally listened, really listened and took to heart
the words I heard about Jesus and the promises He had for me, I was a changed
man. I accepted the Lord and have not
looked back since. I find His presence comforting, loving, and my soul is happy
in the good times and yes, even in the bad times.
This is your time to accept the Lord. Whether you want help with your life’s
troubles, you feel emptiness in your heart, or you want to see heaven, Jesus is
the way to meet those needs and more.
“For he saith, I have heard thee in a time
accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the
accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation” (2 Corinthians
6:2).
Only by accepting Christ as your savior can you
attain the life God has planned for you for His good pleasure and yours.
“Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and
the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (John 14:
6).
God is the mighty rock we can hold on to. Through
Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, you can be assured that whatever you may face
in this life, Christ will be there to comfort you and the Holy Spirit will be
there to guide you through the tough times in life, the troubles you face, and
the adversaries you will meet along the way on the path to heaven.
Trust in God to guide you. Let Him be your mighty
rock to stand on to face life with the confidence and assurance of Christ in you
and assurance of eternity with Him in heaven.
With all blessings and love,
All
quoted Scripture is from the King James Version of the Bible
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