“Every word of
God is tested; He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him. Do not add to
His words or He will reprove you, and you will be proved a liar.” Proverbs 30:5
– 6.
What is it to take
refuge in God? What is it for Him to be our shield?
Is it fair to
say that we only seek refuge when we perceive danger? If this is so, then how
often do we make God our refuge? Why, it must be that we make Him our refuge as
often as we perceive danger. But then, how often do we perceive danger?
If we think of
danger in physical terms, in terms of health or physical safety, then how
likely is it that, at least in the West, we make God our refuge? On the other
hand, if we consider temptation and sin, and the world-system which is God’s
enemy and which seeks to destroy the image and People of God; how often might
we make God our refuge?
Better yet, are
we making God our refuge as our Way of life? That is, are we living in
God as our Refuge? Is not a refuge a place of safety, of comfort, of rest, of
provision, of protection?
The world offers
us refuge in its lies and vanities, vanities and lies that take many forms.
There is money for example; we think that if we have saved and invested enough,
and that if we have a certain level of income, that our money is a refuge – of
course “enough” is never “enough” and this serves as a substitute for God as
our Provider.
We may seek the
refuge of control; that is, the more we are able to control our lives the
greater our refuge from people and events that may harm us. We may seek refuge
in food, in alcohol, in drugs (legal or illegal), in where we live, in what we
do, in what we own, in sensual pleasure. We may even seek refuge in being
religious, or educated, or in our social connections. Many in the professing
church today think they can find refuge in nationalism and politics and in
particular worldviews. The world markets many types of refuge, but there is
only one true refuge, and that is the True and Living God.
When all things
are stripped away, the question remains, “Is God my refuge? Is God your
refuge?” At the core of my being, am I living in God and is God in Christ living
in me?
The disciple of
Jesus Christ needs a refuge and a shield from the thinking of the world, from
its values, from its politics, from its lust for money, pleasure, and power. We
need a refuge from the worldliness of the church which has imported substitutes
for the Person of Jesus Christ and His all – sufficiency (do we really believe
1 Corinthians 1:17 – 2:5?).
And lest you
should misunderstand me, I am thinking not of the “church” which makes little
or no pretense of honoring the Bible, but rather of us who say we believe the
Bible is the Word of God. The problem is always with us, it is never really
with others; the problem is in my heart and soul and mind. Have we not made God
into a Great Therapist who is in charge of a practice of little therapists? Is
not God our political consultant? Our economics guru? Our entertainment
director?
Do we make
God into what we want Him to be, or do we surrender to God and allow Him to
make us into the men and women that He wants us to be?
If God is our refuge,
then He will envelop us in His Presence; if God is not our refuge then the
world-system with its rebellion, sin, and evil will envelop us. Let us not be
deceived, evil can look good as well as bad, and it is more often than not
socially acceptable…and sadly often religiously acceptable.
The world is
driven by anxiety, fear, and worry; when God is our refuge we will know His
peace. The world is driven by false hope on the one hand, and by hopelessness
on the other; when God is our refuge we will know a sure and certain hope in
Jesus Christ. The world is fueled by selfishness and hate; when God is our
refuge we learn to put others before ourselves and to love those who are unlovable
and untouchable. The world teaches us to love things and use people; when God
is our refuge we learn to love people and use things. The world wants to imbue us with its values and measures; when God is our refuge we learn to evaluate life
based on the Holy Scriptures and the Person of Jesus Christ, we learn the folly
of the vanities of the world.
When God is our
refuge we live as strangers in a strange land, as aliens on this earth, as
pilgrims on a journey to a glorious eternity. When God is our refuge we can give to others,
we can be God’s Presence to others, God’s redemptive Word and hope to others in
Christ; we can be the incarnation of the Incarnation…because our refuge is
continuously and eternally in the Trinity.
When God is our
refuge, we breathe the Presence of God with each inhale and exhale; our source
of Life transcends the wickedness, evil, and spiritual death of the world
system.
When God is our
refuge, the Vine is forever our source of Life (John 15:1ff).
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