Reliable Refuge

 “God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, Even though the earth be removed, And though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; The Lord of hosts is with us; The God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah” Psalms 46:1-2, 11 NKJV

It is not news that refuge and trouble are words and opposite. Likewise, reliable refuge is authenticated by traumatized trouble. And when the psalmist painted the scenario when the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea, he probably envisaged the experience of Jonah when he was thrown into the troubled sea or possibly over-sighted the experience of the disciples when they cried “Master, carest not that we perished?” in the troubled sea. While the circumstances differ in both of these illustrations, the constant denominator is the manifestation of the presence of the Lord in times of trouble. Jonah was kept calm even in the belly of the whale, while the presence of Jesus calmed the troubled storm for the disciples to get to the other side as earlier commanded by the Lord. Therefore, there is something extraordinary in “The Lord of hosts is with us; The God of Jacob is our refuge” that demands an ever-increasing Selah for every believer in the midst of the challenges of life. If only we can always capture the potency of the presence of the Lord that attends every obedience to God’s instructions and commandments, we will never ever recognize the presentation of the worst of troubles and their challenges.


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