Devotion - A Shelter in the time of storm

Psalms 46:1 - God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.

This has been my favorite verse in the Bible. It has helped me through difficult times, in sorrow in times of trouble and in times of loneliness. The inspiration to my love for this psalm is that it is that God is not linked to the heroes of faith, like Abraham or Paul, but to Jacob, a cheater, a supplanter and a deceiver. I can't recall of Jacob of doing anything worthy of honor. Yet, "The God of Jacob is with us." That's the amazing grace of God. What an assurance, even when we are so far away from God, yet He chooses to associate himself with a sinner like me and you. That is why amongst all the names of Jesus, the one that melts my heart is that he was called the "friend of sinners." No wonder the pharisees did not like him. He mingled with the weak and the rejects of society. They run to Him for love, security and hope. What a savior.

• God is our refuge. God is our refuge when we are put in a defensive position. In our christian walk, many times we are discouraged, we stumble in our walk and attacked from all sides. That's when we become defensive and in need for some refuge. Job was on the defensive when he faced the trials. David was on the defensive when haunted by Saul. Yet they found refuge in God. In today's world, refugees are shunned by many countries. They are seen as an encroachment, a parasite or even as stateless. But God welcomes refugees, no matter who or what they are. Jesus said in John 6:37 - "whoever comes to me I will never drive away." In the Old Testament, six cities were assigned by Moses to serve as havens for accidental homicide (Num 35:13; Deut 19:9). But in the New Testament, Jesus said, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest" (Mat 11:28).

  Irishman Joseph Scriven was born in 1819 and graduated from Trinity College, Dublin. Things seemed to be going well - he fell in love with a young woman and they planned to marry. But tragedy struck. The evening before the wedding, his bride drowned. Following this, Joseph moved to a teaching post in Port Hope, Canada, but sadness followed him. He again became engaged and once more, just before the wedding his bride became ill and died. In 1855 his mother in Ireland also became ill and to encourage her, he wrote the following poem:

  What a Friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear.
  What a privilege to carry, ev'rything to God in Prayer.
  O what peace we often forfeit, O what needless pain we bear,
  All because we do not carry, ev'rything to God in Prayer.

• We can run to God for refuge:

1. when we have sinned - Isa 1:18
2. when we are sorrowing - 1 Peter 5:7
3. when we are sick - Isa 53:5
   
4. when we are fearful - John 14:27
5. when you are grieving - Psalms 147:3, John 14:27
   
6. the list goes on

• God is our strength.God is our strength when we are in the offensive. As Christians we have been armed to be on the offensive. Eph 6 gives us the battle order for the offensive onslaught against the devil.Eph 6:12-13 - For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. When David was on the offensive against Goliath, he said, "You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the LORD Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. (1 Sam17:45). When we are on the offensive, it is God who is our strength. Jesus said, surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Mat 28:20)

• God is our ever present help. Sometimes we are neither in the defensive or in the offensive mode of action. Things just happen, sometimes due to our weakness or even carelessness. Sometimes its due to the bad decisions that we made. Even in such situations, God is our help. Peter's sinking into the water is one such example. "Lord save me" and that was enough for Jesus to stretch out his hand and save Peter. He is always present.

What is David trying to tell us? In any situation in life, the God of Jacob is with us. So why is there a need to fear? Even though the earth be removed, And though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea, we can still live with peace knowing the LORD of hosts [is] with us; The God of Jacob [is] our refuge.

O Rock Divine, O Refuge dear,
A shelter in the time of storm;
Be thou our helper ever near,
A shelter in the time of storm.