“This I declare about the Lord: He alone is my refuge, my place of safety; he is my God, and I trust him.”
I love meditating on a single verse throughout my day. I read it again and again, I roll it around in my mind. I talk to God about it. I sit in his presence just feeling it with him. I soak it into my brain as I memorize it and I feel every word wrapping around me.
This verse begins with a bold assertion. “Get ready, I am going to declare some truth right now…” When we declare something, we are not just keeping it to ourselves. No, we are telling the world in a not-backing-down, hoping-above-hope way. I know that I know that I know. And what are we declaring? That God alone is my refuge and place of safety. That word “alone” strikes me — nothing else keeps me safe. Just God. And he is the one I worship. Just him. Feel the depth of the word “trust” here — do you trust God so much that you would declare he is your safe place?
Here’s your freedom for today: God is safe. So many people come into my counseling office bruised and battered by life, and all their hurt and pain gets wrapped up in their views of God (and their views of themselves). Trust is hard when it’s been broken by everyone who ever was supposed to be safe for you. But I assure you God is not like everyone else. He is so other. So different. He defines the very word “love,” so evident in his choice to die on a cross for us. He creates safety simply by being present. He is present with you right now, today, this week. Let him cover and protect you from all that life throws your way today.