A RELIABLE REFUGE
BREAD
1 After this, the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision: “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward.” Genesis 15:1 (NIV)
27 The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms. He will drive out your enemy before you, saying, “Destroy him!” Deuteronomy 33:27 (NIV)
“The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; 3 my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation. He is my stronghold, my refuge and my savior– from violent men you save me. 2 Samuel 22:2-3 (NIV)
1 God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. 2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, 3 though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging. Selah Psalms 46:1-3 (NIV)
1 Hear my cry, O God; listen to my prayer. 2 From the ends of the earth I call to you, I call as my heart grows faint; lead me to the rock that is higher than I. 3 For you have been my refuge, a strong tower against the foe. 4 I long to dwell in your tent forever and take refuge in the shelter of your wings. Selah Psalms 61:1-4 (NIV)
5 Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from him. 6 He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will not be shaken. 7 My salvation and my honor depend on God; he is my mighty rock, my refuge. 8 Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge. Selah Psalms 62:5-8 (NIV)
5 “Every word of God is flawless; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.” Proverbs 30:5 (NIV)
30 As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the LORD is flawless. He is a shield for all who take refuge in him. 31 For who is God besides the LORD? And who is the Rock except our God? 32 It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect. 33 He makes my feet like the feet of a deer; he enables me to stand on the heights. Psalms 18:30-33 (NIV)
1 He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. 2 I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” Psalms 91:1-2 (NIV)
BUTTER
“What we feed our minds and hearts on will determine whether we live a life of faith or a life of fear. …The more time we spend with God and His Word, the more our faith develops and our fear diminishes….Faith in God conquers fear every time. The God who has redeemed us and cares for us is trustworthy. Our Creator God will never abandon us, and He has our best interests at heart. ‘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).” Michael Youssef
“He is near to the broken, He is close to the weary of heart. In His Name is a refuge, Safety for the weak and discarded. There is help for the hopeless, For the wounded in need. In the presence of Jesus, There is power unleashed. Call upon the Name of the Lord, He’s our Defender, our Deliverer. A Shelter in the midst of the storm, Jesus, our Savior, He is King over all the earth. I will sing of my Redeemer, Testify to the touch of His hand, Lifted me from disaster, Set my feet on a solid rock to stand. God is our Refuge, our Strength and Salvation, A Mighty Fortress is the Lord Almighty. There is no equal, no power beside Him. Forever our Champion is the Lord our God. Our Savior, He is King over all the earth.” Lyrics to Defender (Call Upon The Name Of The Lord)
“Where does your security lie? Is God your refuge, your hiding place, your stronghold, your shepherd, your counselor, your friend, your redeemer, your saviour, your guide? If He is, you don’t need to search any further for security.” Elisabeth Elliot
“‘He is my refuge and my fortress’ (Psalm 91:2). A refuge is a place safely out of harm’s way. A fortress is a fortified building that is virtually impenetrable by conventional means. Martin Luther wrote a wonderful hymn that says, ‘A mighty fortress is our God; a bulwark never failing. Our helper He amidst the flood; of mortal ills prevailing.’ What a statement about the magnificent power and protection of God! Does God care for you and me? Can we turn to Him in trust and faith when troubles and temptations threaten to overwhelm us? Yes – a thousand times yes! What greater proof do we need than that He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to die in our place?” Billy Graham
“Seek, O believer, that every good thing you have may be an abiding thing. May your character not be a writing upon the sand, but an inscription upon the rock! May your faith be no ‘baseless fabric of a vision,’ but may it be built of material able to endure that awful fire which shall consume the wood, hay, and stubble of the hypocrite. May you be rooted and grounded in love. May your convictions be deep, your love real, your desire earnest. May your whole life be so firm and strong, that all the blasts of hell and the storms of earth shall never be able to remove you.” Charles Spurgeon
“Rock of ages, cleft for me, let me hide myself in Thee.” Augustus Toplady
“Upon some points a believer is absolutely sure. He knows, for instance, that God sits in the stern-sheets of the vessel when it rocks most. He believes that an invisible hand is always on the world’s tiller, and that wherever providence may drift, Jehovah steers it. That re-assuring knowledge prepares him for everything. He looks over the raging waters and sees the spirit of Jesus treading the billows, and he hears a voice saying, “It is I, be not afraid.” He knows too that God is always wise, and, knowing this, he is confident that there can be no accidents, no mistakes; that nothing can occur which ought not to arise. He can say, “If I should lose all I have, it is better that I should lose than have, if God so wills: the worst calamity is the wisest and the kindest thing that could befall to me if God ordains it.” “We know that all things work together for good to them that love God.” The Christian does not merely hold this as a theory, but he knows it as a matter of fact. Everything has worked for good as yet; the poisonous drugs mixed in fit proportions have worked the cure; the sharp cuts of the lancet have cleansed out the proud flesh and facilitated the healing. Every event as yet has worked out the most divinely blessed results; and so, believing that God rules all, that He governs wisely, that He brings good out of evil, the believer’s heart is assured, and he is enabled calmly to meet each trial as it comes. The believer can in the spirit of true resignation pray, “Send me what thou wilt, my God, so long as it comes from Thee; never came there an ill portion from Thy table to any of Thy children.” C. H. Spurgeon
“God is looking for those who will worship Him not only in spirit and in truth – as Jesus says in John 4:23 – but also in crisis. He seeks those who can look beyond the clouds that threaten and hover over them to His radiance that thoroughly surrounds them. And when He finds them, He blesses them. That’s a difficult maturity for most Christians to learn. Our natural reaction in a trial is to flee, or to beg for relief. And we have plenty of biblical examples; asking God for deliverance is thoroughly recommended throughout the Word. But is there panic in the asking? Our weak souls are easily unnerved, but there’s a better pose: We can praise God, knowing that when we call, He will answer. He may not answer exactly the way we expect – though often He does – but He will answer, and His answer will be good. We can count on that. Those who do will pray for deliverance not in a panic, but in a rock-solid trust. God will save. It’s His nature.” Chris Tiegreen
HEART SAVOR
• God’s perfect love for me casts out fear. He is my reliable refuge.
• He is my Rock in Whom I take refuge.
• I can rest securely in Him.
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