Refuge and Strength!

Each day we are bombarded by a culture that believes it shapes it’s own destiny.  We can manipulate the way we age;  we are obsessed with our body image;  we are fearful of our social status;  we are hungry for affirmation.  When we are that self-absorbed, how can we trust God for His wisdom, and submit to God for His leading? 

But when we find ourselves unhappy with our status, looks, finances, pain, worry, etc., then we go running to God to patch us up so we can go back to our self-focused world.  A healthy self-image is found only when covered with God’s strength and deliverance.

 

Psalm 91 reminds us where our proper self-image and stability are found.  Verses 2-4 say:

 

 “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust. Surely He will save you from the fowlers snare and from the deadly pestilence.  He will cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you will find refuge; His faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.”

God wants to impart wisdom to us so we will not fear, and to give us faith so that we will trust in Him to carry out His will.  Sometimes God’s will and perspective are illusive and seem to us to be unfair or unjust.  Nonetheless, God carries out His promise to never let us be destroyed by anyone or anything.  We have seen that we can trust His will even in the face of death because of the power of the resurrection.  Trusting in Him, we can say with Paul, “If God is for us, who can be against us?”  [Romans 8:31b]

 

Be strong, trust boldly, have faith!

Dan

The Rev. Daniel C. Morgan

Associate Rector