What gives you confidence? What calms your heart? What makes you feel secure? A thriving economy? A secure job? Your person in the White House? A substantial retirement? A strong military?
Daily Devotion
Refuge
Refuge: Omnipresent
God is not limited by time or space. He is present everywhere at the same time in his whole being. There is nowhere in the entire universe, on land or sea, that a person can go to get away from God.
Refuge: He Watches Over You
The world is a shaky place in which to live. As I write this, the headlines give updates on several wars going on around the world. A hurricane is causing major damage and widespread power outages in parts of our country. Corruption charges are being brought against government leaders. There is no end to the political bickering.
Refuge: Limitless Love
“Love,” says A. W. Tozer, “is an essential attribute of God.” Tozer explains that all of God’s attributes are always at work together. One is never held back in order to emphasize another. Let’s think about what that means for us.
Refuge: God’s Great Love
God’s love is something believers need to understand, accept, and apply. A. W. Tozer explains this attribute of God in his book, The Knowledge of the Holy.
Refuge: Unfailing Love
Sometimes, we can feel it coming on, like a person who loses footing on a steep climb, and we can feel our emotions slipping. The waves of anxiety build until they crash into our hearts and drench our souls. Here it comes, the fear of uncertainty.
Refuge: From Everlasting to Everlasting
God is eternal. There was never a time when he wasn’t; there will never be a time when he ceases to exist. He has neither a beginning nor an end.
Refuge: He is Holding You
Sometimes, all we can do is hold on. One doctor’s visit leaves our minds spinning. One phone call changes the course of our days. One text leaves our hearts heavy. These are not the times when we feel like considering the five possible interpretations of a difficult passage. We may not be up for reading a book about the theology and practice of prayer. Sometimes, all we can do is cling.
Refuge: Wait Quietly Before Him
Spiritually exhausted? Feel like you are chasing your tail? Busy, running hard, but getting nowhere fast? Could it be that you’re spent from running hard after the wrong things? Could it be that you are living your life for yourself? Could it be that your spiritual exhaustion is caused by the inward battle between your will and what God wills for you?
Refuge: In God I Trust
It is not a matter of “if I am ever afraid” but “when.” Note the first five words of today’s passage. David, the man after God’s own heart, was afraid. This psalm was written when the Philistines had overtaken him in Gath—captured by the Philistines. Now, that would strike fear in the heart of any person.
Refuge: A Steady Heart
Don’t gently carry them over and lay them down. Rear back and heave them like a fisherman throwing a big net into the sea. In fact, do this: write down your cares—your fears, anxiety, dread, doubts, turmoil, or worry—on a sheet of paper. Put it in a bag. Go to your church and lay the bag at the foot of the cross.
Refuge: We Will Not Fear
Sometimes, we experience an earthquake of the soul. Our world is shaken by the surges of uninvited waters. Waves of chaos pound our confused hearts. Yet when these inevitable times come, we can stand strong. Here’s what the psalmist wrote: