"God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.  Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof. Selah.  The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah." (Psalm 46:1-3, 7)

I know I have written about a lot of this before, but I will review a few things along with writing other thoughts regarding verses 2-3. 

In the Old Testament, the Israelites built cities of refuge in the Promised Land.  If you killed someone accidentally and were being sought for revenge by the next of kin, you could run to the city of refuge, crying, “Refuge!!!”  (Numbers 35:11-12 says, "Then ye shall appoint you cities to be cities of refuge for you; that the slayer may flee thither, which killeth any person at unawares.  And they shall be unto you cities for refuge from the avenger; that the manslayer die not, until he stand before the congregation in judgment."  You can read also Joshua 20.)  They would open the gates of the city to admit you but not your pursuer.  Now we don’t have to run to a city; we can run to our God Who is omnipresent!!  HE is our refuge in any situation in which we need Him to protect us from unwarranted assault. 

Now, re-read some of what comes next in the psalm and visualize it; verses 2 and 3 say, “Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof. Selah."  That sounds very scary, but if everything around us gives way, collapses, or is destroyed, if our very foundation is shaken, we still do not have cause to fear, but we have cause to pause and review what Psalm 46 says.  We are facing some of this in America:  some of our foundations are shaken, but we know the God Who is omnipresent (everywhere present), omnipotent (all-powerful), Jehovah Nissi (The LORD our Banner Who will fight for us and claims us as His own) and is so much more!!  Even if the very earth shakes beneath us, we can run to our omnipresent God, Who loves us as His children, but we don’t have to “run” far, since He is always right here. As the old saying goes, “He is as close as the mention of His name!” Just call on Him. We therefore have no reason to fear. 

One more point to review:  verse 7 says, "The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.”  The LORD of hosts, The Commander of the armies of heaven, Jehovah Sabaoth Himself, The One Who created the warrior angels and sends them to fight for us, He is the LORD Who is with us!!!  What have we to fear?!?!?!  HE is our refuge!!! 

So, when all around you is uncertainty, run to your God and cry, "Refuge!"  As the songs says, "I want to sit at Your feet, drink from the cup in Your hand, lay back against You and breathe, feel Your heart beat."  ("The More I Seek You" by Zach Neese.)

"How long, O you sons of men, Will you turn my glory to shame? How long will you love worthlessness And seek falsehood? Selah." -- Psalm 4:2 (NKJV)

"How long, O men, will you turn my glory into shame ? How long will you love delusions and seek false gods ? "Selah"." (NIV)

"O ye sons of men, how long will ye turn my glory into shame? how long will ye love vanity, and seek after leasing? Selah." (KJV)

Because this is the New Year, I have been reviewing my past year and setting goals for my next.  I want this year to find me putting God first, making peace, forgiving when needed, asking forgiveness when needed, fulfilling my God-given purposes, obeying when God speaks to me with instructions, and basically putting God first.  I just finished a Bible study about false gods, a study that focuses on how we give first place to things or people besides God Jehovah.  So, when I read this verse, it jumped out at me.  I am thinking the Lord is trying to tell me something, since this information keeps "coming across my desk."  So, let's take a minute to meditate on what this verse is saying.

In the December 18th post, we explored the word "glory."  According to Strong's Concordance, it means  "weight, splendor, copiousness."  In this verse, God asked how long we will turn His "weight, splendor, copiousness" into shame or dishonor, or give Him a bad reputation?  Then I started wondering how we do that, and I decided it king it is because we who bear His name do not live as if He is really God, and we do not put Him in His rightful position as our Number One!  In so many aspects, we live similarly to the unsaved, and when we pray it is little more than a fulfilled obligation instead of talking personally with our Savior and really expecting answers.  If we would really live Christ-like, put Him first, pray in faith believing, and stand back and let God be God, inviting Him to work in all aspects of our lives, and then stand back and "see the salvation of the Lord," (Exodus 14:13, 2 Chronicles, 20:17, and Isaiah 52:10), the world would know Who He is!  His reputation would be intact!

 

The second part really got to me, because I do so many worthless things instead of things that matter to people, matter to God, and have eternal significance.  There is nothing wrong with decompressing or doing fun things, unless it takes priority over my God-given responsibilities and callings, and I am so guilty of this. 

 

When I was praying this morning, my mind wandered to a writing exercise in which I have participated so many times, where the leader gives you a plain sentence and asks you to build a story around it.  A sentence actually came to mind this morning:  "The wagon is there."  What came next I believe came from God.  The story began with a shiny red wagon sitting under a Christmas tree, waiting for the child to find him.  Through the years, he was pulled, pushed, loaded, unloaded, and now he stands, not quite as shiny with several places rusted through, but still waiting for the next child to come along and use him as a baby-doll carriage or bed, or as a loader/carrier, or as a ride down a fun hill on a beautiful summer day, or whatever way he is needed.  That is why he was created. 

 

I want to be like the red wagon, fulfilling my purposes for which God created me, and between "gigs," while waiting for my next assignment, praising God, and obeying when the assignment comes without hesitation! 

 

Thanks for going on this little journey of self-examination.  Being a New Year, it is definitely a time to "selah," to pause and think about what the Word is saying to me.  My prayer is that I will take heed and obey.

 

May your New Year be blessed beyond measure!