“If you make the Lord your refuge, if you make the Most High your shelter, no evil will conquer you; no plague will come near your home.”
As a counselor, I am very aware that bad things happen to good people. So I read this verse and I wrestle… “no evil will conquer you…” How do we talk about that with those who grew up with abusive parents, or those who have been victimized? Is it their fault because they must not have been trusting God enough? It is verses like these that can make us go the victim-blaming direction.
The key word that hits me here is “conquer.” The people who have sat in my counseling office sharing their stories of trauma are survivors. When they have turned to God, they have found refuge from their harm. They have connected with the empowerment they gain from being adopted into God’s family. These truths give them hope that there is a world better than this one and it is safe for them.
Here’s your freedom for today: no matter what you have been through, evil cannot keep you down. Run into the refuge and shelter of God. Embrace his protection and love. Become empowered by letting your position in God’s family define you instead of harm defining you. You will not be kept down in God’s kingdom. You will no longer be oppressed, you will no longer be victimized. These are guarantees this world cannot offer. And so we press on to a place where sickness and death and trauma no longer exist.