Refuge

31 August 2022

Psalm 16:5–8

‘I will praise the LORD, who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me. I keep my eyes always on the LORD. With him at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.’ (vv7–8)

The foundational message that runs through all of Scripture is that God is for each one of us. How we respond to that knowledge is a matter of personal choice, and any survey would reveal that individuals are at different stages of their acceptance of God, and in the degree to which they are comfortable entrusting God with their wellbeing, even with His many witnesses throughout our material world (Rom. 1:20).

One essential message in all of Scripture is that God is all-sufficient and in Him, we can find the fullest expression of who we have been created to be. We also gain insight into who it is we might become by God’s grace.

God’s light is perhaps best seen in the context of the darkness which it attempts to illuminate and will ultimately overcome.

It is a challenging choice which faces us, as one day gives way to the next to determine the level of excitement and devotion we will invest in God’s promise in living God’s way in God’s world. Satan constantly seeks to undermine our confidence in God, directly and indirectly.

One way I deal with this when struggling is to ask myself what are the alternatives? There may be a number, but the majority of them whilst perhaps offering a quick fix or immediate release of my tension, carry no hope for my future.

God’s light is perhaps best seen in the context of the darkness which it attempts to illuminate and will ultimately overcome. When I am determined always to keep my eyes on God then I am indeed looking to the light that can sustain me against all odds.

SCRIPTURE TO CONSIDER:

Ps. 78:40–56; Lam. 3:19–33; Matt. 6:19–24; 1 Pet. 4:1–11.

AN ACTION TO TAKE:

What are the things that jostle in your heart and mind to disrupt your friendship with God, and what will it take for you to declare, ‘Apart from God I have nothing’?