'Therefore we will not fear ...'

God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.

-Psalm 46:1-3

I recently became aware of a friend who is in a real struggle right now - betrayed and abused.

Now think - anyone in your life who currently faces trouble or fear? Yourself?

I know many stroke survivors face trouble on a daily basis. I've been there - feeling vulnerable and weak. Some feel it physically. Others struggle with speech problems, memory, vision and more.

Vulnerable? God is your refuge, a safe place in a storm. Weak (physically, mentally or, most important, spiritually)? God is your strength.

Reach out to God. He is with you, through those times of trouble. If you struggle how, reach out to friends of faith until you find ways to relate to God.

'My rock, my fortress and my deliverer'

The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

-Psalm 18:2

Re-reading the other Psalm verses featured here, you can see several references of taking refuge in God.

Do you have a refuge - I mean by that, a physical place you go, retreat to - when trouble comes your way? I find it a couple of ways - I have a workshop in the basement of my house, where I do very amateur woodworking, and three mornings a week, I run outdoors when I can.

Can I live in those refuges indefinitely? No. Sooner or later, I need to leave my workshop or my running route and join the rest of the world.

So, in Psalm, is the writer suggesting that we simply take refuge and never leave? I don't think so. God provides refuge when life's storms hit. But when those storms subside, God sends us to join the rest of the world. A world where you can make a difference in the lives of others.

So when you need that refuge - regardless of the physical place you might go - take your troubles to God. Not to keep it to yourself, though, but rest and strengthen, then share that hope of refuge with others.

   

600 blog postings - and, God willing, more to come

God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.

-Psalm 46:1

This is the 600th blog posting for Stroke of Faith, which began eight years ago this coming Saturday. Click here for the first posting.

For several years, the blog was updated only sporadically. Then, in 2008, I decided to either abandon the blog or update more often. So, since then, it's been updated generally two or three times a week.

I also recently re-read the verse in Psalm 46, and I think it makes a statement about one of the reasons for this blog:. When I needed help, God was my refuge. When I had no strength, God was my strength. And even to this day, when trouble invades, God is my ever-present help.

'He is my refuge and my fortress'

Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High
    will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress,
    my God, in whom I trust.”

-Psalm 91:1-2

Ever need shelter?

Life certainly throws a lot bad stuff in our direction. Struggles with health concerns. Hard decisions. Life-altering events.

Note a couple of words in the Psalm quoted:

1. "Dwells." Not passing through God's shelter, but dwelling there. We don't have to rush out and face our struggles alone, then rush back to shelter. No. We face these struggles in God's shelter.

2. "Rest." Dwelling in God's shelter doesn't mean we abandon our duties. We can rest near to God - in his shadow - to regain energy and strength to battle these struggles and storms in our lives.

So stay close. Dwell in his shelter. Rest with God. Let him be your refuge.

'My mighty rock, my refuge'

My salvation and my honor depend on God;
he is my mighty rock, my refuge.

-Psalm 62:7

It was several years ago. We were in the St. Louis area when the storm came. First clue that it wasn't a typical summer storm: A burst of wind knocked a too-close-for-comfort traffic light off its bracket. The race to refuge began.

Limbs began falling and flashes of light came as power lines fell. First stop: to pick up our youngest daughter close by. That was accomplished. Then, we found refuge in a parking garage, almost empty on a Saturday in downtown Clayton, Mo.

We sighed in relief.

This week is Holy Week in most Christian calendars. On Friday, we consider and, yes, celebrate the sacrifice that Jesus Christ made on a cross. Why celebrate such a thing? Because we know how this race to refuge ended.

For on Sunday, we celebrate the resurrection of Christ, and in him, as his disciples found, we have refuge.

How many races to refuge have you experienced? As a stroke survivor, I remember - in bits and pieces - that struggle to find refuge. Like the day we found shelter in a parking garage, my refuge was at hand. In Christ, we can find, time and time again, that shelter in life's storms.

(Photo from National Weather Service, Rapid City, S.D.)