Refuge

Though an army besiege me,

    my heart will not fear;

though war break out against me,

    even then I will be confident.

One thing I ask from the Lord,

    this only do I seek:

that I may dwell in the house of the Lord

    all the days of my life,

to gaze on the beauty of the Lord

    and to seek him in his temple.

For in the day of trouble

    he will keep me safe in his dwelling;

he will hide me in the shelter of his sacred tent

    and set me high upon a rock.

Psalm 27:3-5

When you are right with God, the biggest and most overwhelming circumstances in your life cannot shake you. That doesn't mean you will be unaffected by them, but you will find yourself able to endure the most extreme hardships without being overcome by them. The psalmist speaks of an entire army advancing against him, yet he doesn't fear. Why?

Certainly he expects that God will protect him, but I think there is more than that here. When your greatest desire in life is to be in God's presence, then as long as you are right with God you have it. Nothing and no one can take it away from you. If I am right with God then my most treasured possession is secure. This is why the psalmist says in verse one "The LORD is the stronghold of my life- of whom shall I be afraid?" Certainly it is because he believes God will protect Him but it is also because God's presence is His refuge, His hiding place. This theme is picked up again and again in the psalms. 

Where do you run when you are in danger of being overwhelmed and overcome by life's problems? What is your refuge? Make it God's presence. I have taken refuge and found joy in His precious presence again and again. Even as my heart wanted to give up and my brain told me the road ahead was impossible, God's Spirit whispered in my ear "I am with you. Keep going." Over and over again His presence has proved to be all I needed to keep going. It didn't make my problems disappear or make my situation any easier, but it did give me the hope and the courage to keep going. And it gave me a sure refuge I could run to any time I felt myself beginning to crack under the pressure again. 

If you are a believer and you have never experienced this joy and communion of God's presence then you are missing out on your birthright! Make this a matter of prayer right now. How can it be that a man or woman of God who has the Holy Spirit living within them could feel distant from their God for long periods of time? The only explanation is that there is sin in the camp. The sin in your life is separating you from God. So seek after Him! Repent and renew your efforts to know your Savior. There is no greater joy than sitting at the feet of Jesus and God has given each of His children the right to taste that goodness right now on this side of heaven.