God is My Refuge

The Bible tells me, repeatedly, that God is our refuge. That is the theme of Bible study this week, and it is appropriate for me as I am struggling with feeling hopeless, helpless, afraid, and anxious because things in my life are not going the way I want them to. Those are troublesome feelings and possible indicators of an approaching depressive episode. There are just things going on right now for which I have no control leading me to frustration and anxiety.

However, if I turn to God (or if I don’t), the Lord Almighty is my refuge and protector. He’s an ever-present help in times of trouble whether I acknowledge and give praise, or wallow in self-pity. Psalm 46 explains that help, and I especially like verses 1-3:

God is our refuge and strength,

A very present help in trouble.

Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change,

And though the mountains slip into the heart of the sea;

Though its waters roar and foam,

Though the mountains quake at its swelling pride.

Nothing like the catastrophes described above are happening in my area of the world, but the emotional world inside (and in my environment) are in turmoil. It’s a different kind of trouble, but it is still trouble that is infecting my thoughts and feelings. And God will help. As a matter of fact, He is already helping!

I do have some responsibilities if I want to see, recognize, and acknowledge God as my refuge. Foremost, I need to be looking for God at work. I also need to cry out to Him and reinforce verbally the truths of Scripture. I also need to be willing and able to tell others of the refuge He is providing for me. I can’t do those things if I stay focused on me, and my problems.

The passage I chose to memorize for the topic, “God is My Refuge,” is Psalm 91:1-2, because it clearly says God is my refuge (and fortress), but also reminds me to be calling out to Him and acknowledging that fact.

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High

Will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.

I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress,

My God, in whom I trust!”

A long time ago I memorized Psalm 91:11 and it brought me encouragement.

For He will give His angels charge concerning you,

To guard you in all your ways.

However, in adding verses 1-2 to the picture, I now know why He will give His angels charge concerning me: because He is my refuge and fortress and His angels are His soldiers manning the castle I’m unassailably ensconced within.

Today, I will take notice of God’s protection around my thoughts and my feelings and praise Him for the help is has given, is giving, and will give me as I journey through life on this earth. Doing that should keep depressive thoughts and behaviors at bay and even give me glimpses of hope in the midst of this very present trouble.

God is Trustworthy

I’ve known this concept for a long time: God is trustworthy. However, I have still struggled with not feeling like I can trust Him. This lesson has helped me see the many reasons and ways that David trusted God in the midst of all kinds of attacks and struggles. Psalms 31, 40, 55, and 56 address David’s trust issues and shows why he trusts God in every area of his life.

After noting many situations and David’s thoughts about those situations in Psalm 31, I noticed a pattern in the circumstances that prompt David to trust God. The circumstances (which were mostly the same in the other Psalms from this week’s study) encompassed physical, mental, emotional, and social situations in which David felt besieged. In some of the other Psalms I noticed that David was convinced he could trust God in situations where he was under military attack. David relied on God’s protection to see him through. Psalm 55 specifically addresses a situation where a very close friend of David’s betrayed him. David calls him a traitor (vs. 12-13). David is clearly heartbroken by the friend’s turning against him. David realizes that there is no one but God who is completely trustworthy to look out for his interests.

I’m not saying we should hold every friend in doubt and fear of betrayal. This passage just brings home the fact that mere men cannot always keep their words or their promises – whether out of treachery or just because they are human and make mistakes. People will, in general, fail us at one point or another just because they are human and fallible. However, God is not human and He will keep His promises He’s made to us. We can and should trust Him with every aspect of our lives.

I chose to memorize Psalm 56:3-4 this week because one of my go to emotions is fear.

When I am afraid,

I will put my trust in Thee.

In God, whose word I praise,

In God I have put my trust;

I shall not be afraid.

What can mere man do to me?

I also like what C.H. Spurgeon had to say about Psalm 56:3-4:

It is a blessed fear which drives us to trust. Unregenerate fear drives from God, gracious fear drives to Him. If I fear man I have only to trust God, and I have the best antidote. To trust when there is no cause for fear, is but the name of faith, but to be reliant upon God when occasions for alarm are abundant and pressing, is the conquering faith of God’s elect. Though the verse is in the form of a resolve, it became a fact in David’s life; let us make it so in ours. Whether the fear arise from without or within, from past, present, or future, from temporals or spirituals, from men or devils, let us maintain faith, and we shall soon recover courage. [Emphasis added]

One of the questions in the study asked, “What other aspects of the psalmist’s life were touched because of his trust in God?” I answered simply, “All areas. Relationships, health, emotions, physical protection and well-being, soul condition, spiritual condition, mental health, and vengeance upon enemies.” David’s faith and relationship with God blossomed because God has proven Himself worthy and shown His care and love for man. My trust in Him has also been growing as a result of new recognition that I can trust God for every aspect of my life – especially when I am afraid.