It was a little after 9pm, and I fell into bed exhausted. It was only Wednesday, but so much had already happened during the week that I wondered how I could possibly handle one more thing. I closed my eyes and asked the Lord to once more take my fears, concerns, and burdens that were causing sleepless nights for weeks on end. As I laid there in the darkness praying, I suddenly realized that my bedroom door was opened, and in walked one of my special sisters. She came to my bedside and with a quivering voice told me she was really struggling with everything and felt as if her entire world was crashing in around her. She was afraid and didn't know what to do.
For a brief moment, panic gripped my heart. I felt the same way. What was I to say or offer that would help?
As she knelt by the bed and buried her head in her hands, I knew I only had one recourse, and that was to point both of us to Truth. There was One who knew our pain and saw our tears, and He was the One to whom we could flee for comfort.
"Yes, I know it feels that way, but it isn't true. God is our refuge and fortress, and we can run to Him for help. He has promised to supply our every need, and He knows exactly what is going on and how it is impacting us. He is using this situation for higher purposes than we'll ever fully comprehend, and He is calling us to trust Him."
I continued to remind both of us of God's character and His promises and what He had done for us in the past through similar situations. And then we prayed together. We ran to the Rock and poured out our souls before God, asking for His mercy, comfort, provision, and deliverance.
***
Have you ever been there? Has life ever so overwhelmed you and thrown so many curve balls that you're left reeling from the impact and wondering how you're supposed to get up and go on? Has the darkness ever been so thick and the waves so strong that you feel as if you have no strength to conquer them yourself?
The trials of life do impact us this way. There have been many occasions in my own life (such as the one above that took place just last week) when I've been at my wit's end. Exhausted, fearful, confused, overwhelmed, discouraged, hopeless, and helpless. Yes, these are very real responses to life circumstances, but I've come to see over time that they are designed for a most beautiful intent. When faced with our own human weakness and inability to understand and comprehend, we are forced to lift our eyes away from everyone and everything else and look above. All these things are intended to drive us to God Himself.
This is when we experience the words that David penned in Psalm 18: "I love you, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold."
A question I've been pondering recently is this: Do I go to Him?
For a child of God who is living on this earth filled with suffering and heartache, the promise that we have One in whom we can take refuge is indeed a most comforting reality. This is God Almighty - the one who spoke the universe into existence and who has accomplished the redemption of His chosen people - and He tells me that I can come to Him and take refuge. Who wouldn't? Why don't I?
"We can flee to God in an instant." Those words spoken years ago by an older godly woman are ones I've never forgotten. And they are so true. We can flee to God with full assurance that He hears our prayers and will fulfill His word to us.
He's a Refuge that will always provide what we need. He's a Rock that will always give support and strength. He's a Fortress that will forever remain secure.
This is God Himself, and in Him we can hide.
"He alone is my rock and my salvation; He is my fortress, I will not be shaken." -Psalm 62:6
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