WHAT IS YOUR REFUGE DURING HARD TIMES
Some of you might have noticed that I have been adding a Bible verse at the bottom of every blog post. I always write about my faith on Sunday, but I have only recently started adding a small verse to my fashion posts. Most of the verses have been based on hope, faith, love, or worry since that seems to be the place that we are in right now. But, this past week, I have been adding the verses of Psalm 91 in the order that they were written. There was no rhyme or reason to my verse selections, I sometimes added only one verse, and on some days I would add more than one. I think that it might have been Divine intervention though because the verses left for today are perfect for my Sunday post.
Psalm 91:9-10
9 If you say, “The Lord is my refuge,” and you make the Most High your dwelling, 10 no harm will overtake you, no disaster will come near your tent.
I am going to try and attempt to break this verse down to make it applicable for us today, but remember, I am not a Pastor/Preacher, and I have no training in this area.
What I love about this verse in how instructional it is. It starts out by saying, “if YOU” which means that you are the person in control. So many times we have to elicit the help of others and try to get everyone to move in the same direction, but this verse says that “YOU” are the only one that has to spring to action.
So, what is the action? According to the verse, you have to speak. Words have to leave your mouth. The Bible verse does not say that you need to “think,” instead, it says that you need to “SAY!” According to the dictionary, the word SAY means to express in words or sounds or to state an opinion or belief.
This sounds pretty easy so far. WE/YOU have to say something out loud. Now, for the next instruction. What do we have to say? “The Lord is my refuge” are the words that need to be on our lips. I’ll pause for a minute for you to say these words.
The world is a dangerous place and we seek “refuge” all the time. A refuge is a shelter or protection from some type of danger or distress. There are abuse shelters where people can go if they feel threatened or endangered. There are storm shelters and basements where people can flee to if they feel that their lives might be in danger from an approaching storm. Animals that are in danger of extinction have certain places where they are safe and free from danger. And, in some instances, people have sought refuge in other countries.
The Lord is where we should be seeking protection. In verse 4 of this same chapter, we can see the Lord spreading out His wings to protect us. He gathers us to His breasts and He will shield us from harm.
Psalm 91:4
4 He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.
With all good things, there is a catch. You have to do something else in addition to speaking the words out loud. You have to make the Most High your dwelling. This part of the verse is a little more complicated for most of us. What does that mean? I know that a dwelling is a house, apartment, or someplace where I live. But, how exactly do I make the Most High my dwelling?
The dictionary provides some insight that might help us to understand what the verse might mean. A dwelling means to live or stay as a permanent resident; reside. But, it also means to linger over, emphasize, or ponder in thought, speech, or writing. Ding, ding, ding!!! We have a winner! The Lord should be our dwelling, the place where we are a permanent resident. We should linger over and with Him and ponder on Him and His teachings in our thoughts. We should talk about Him and write about Him and all of His glory!
And, if we do all of the above, what then? According to verse 10, no harm will overtake you, and no disaster will come near your tent. Hummmm. Does this mean that nothing bad will ever happen to us? I wish that was the case, and that it meant that if you were a believer that you would never get sick, never get divorced, or never have financial worries. But, that is not the promise. The promise is that harm/evil will not overtake you. Job had plenty of harm and evil come his way, Paul and John were beheaded, and everyone in the Bible died at some point.
We look at sickness and death as harm and evil, and that if we die, then it overtook us. Divorce and financial worries are horrible, and no one wants to go through either of those, but are they what the Lord was considering as harm and evil? We have to wonder if the Lord might be PROTECTING us from harm and evil by divorcing us from what might have happened, or protecting us from the evil that having too much money can bring with it. And, even though we will miss out on a lot of things after we die, we will instead experience the unimaginable JOY that will come with actually residing in the dwelling of the Lord.
I know that all of us are worried about COVID-19, the economy, and how the world has turned upside down. I am clinging to the Lord, the Most High, the Creator and the Sustainer of all things for hope, comfort, and protection during this time of uncertainty. Turn to the Lord, His arms are wide open, and He is welcoming you.
Have A Blessed Day!
Thank you! Your words speak to many.
Amen and thank you for sharing the Good News♡
Your Sunday posts are my favorite! Thank you, Tanya!
Amen…. we all need to be in the Word for comfort and guidance! Love your words!
Excellent post!
Our pastor preached a similar message of keeping Christ our first priority. Then everything else will fall into place!
Lovely and inspiring post today. Thanks, it’s most welcome
I think you were meant to write this today & for some reason I was meant to see it. I am saving this to reread when I start to fret. I also remembered I had bought from Plunder a necklace with verse 4 on it. I believe I will wear it today. Thank you for your timely words.
If it weren’t for your obvious faith and increasing emphasis on it, I doubt I would continue to follow you. Fashion ain’t enough for this deep thinker! But, deep thinkers need a sabbath from their minds and your blog strikes that harmonious note! As women, we need our (true) beauty in Spirit to shine through the gloss we “coat” on. You got both, gurl!
This is just what I needed today!
Like many of your messages, today’s thoughts that you shared were encouraging and hopeful. Thank you —
I love that you took time to talk about each verse and individual words within each verse. Sometimes I read a whole chapter and I miss grasping all it is taking about.
I noticed you had included Bible verses at the end of each daily post. I like that. I hope you keep going on that.
Thanks for inspiring me to to take time to read each verse and think through it. That will help me draw closer to God as I seek to understand Him.
Thank you we do look to the Lord for everything. This is very helpful when we are going through trials or even when things are going well. He sees the future and he knows everything about us and what will happen next. You are right if he didn’t intervene whether good or bad …. it could be a lot worse. God Bess you for you post. Thank you…
He knows all. Isn’t that a wonderful thought.
Encouraging words and common sense – a good combination. Thank you for your insight. Have a blessed day.
I am glad that you enjoyed the blog today. I hope you got something out of it.
Thank you For your faith and boldness and sharing it.
I have not always been so bold about sharing. But, He does instruct us to go and tell.
Love your post today!! Thank you so much!
Thanks, Merri Lynn. I am glad that you enjoyed the post.
Thank you for sharing these encouraging words! Leaning on God and making him our refuge helps us get through life.?
I am leaning on GOD for His protection and guidance.
This is beautiful and very timely and encouraging thank you!
You’ve probably already heard this joke but I feel like I need to tell it!
There’s a heavy rain in New Orleans and things are starting to flood. The police come up to an old man’s door and say ‘hey let’s get you out of here, there’s a flood coming.’ He says ‘no I’ll be fine’ and they leave.
The rain keeps coming and now it’s flooding the man’s house. He looking out a window upstairs and a boat comes along. The rescuers say ‘come on in we’re here to rescue you.’ But the old man says ‘no, I’ll be fine’ and insists on staying.
Now it’s really raining hard. The man’s house is full of water and he’s up on the roof. A helicopter comes along and lowers down a rope, and the crew yells ‘get on and we will take you to safety! Again the man says ‘no I’ll be fine’. The crew begs him ‘this is your last chance, you’re going to drown’. The man says ‘no, the Lord will save me.’ Shortly after, he drowns.
At the pearly gates he asks God ‘what happened? You have always answered my prayers, but this time you didn’t’. God said, ‘well, I sent you a police car, a boat and helicopter but you wouldn’t get on!’
I love this joke but it also reminds us that we have to do our part. God,may answer our prayers by giving us a task to do. You never know.
Thanks for breaking down one of my favorite bible versus. I’ve been speaking this one a lot over the past month. I do enjoy your blogs and your videos. Have a blessed day.
Psalm 91 is a beautiful chapter. It gives us instructions for us to follow, and it is up to us to do the work.
I have always loved this little story. The Lord helps us in so many ways, but it is up to us to make the decision to act.
Thank you for your words from the scripture. They bring such comfort. Maybe God is trying to get our attention?
Nancy, I do believe that He has everyone’s attention now!
Thanks Tania for your words and a reminder of God’s words to us, appreciate what you’ve written
Deborah, it is good to hear from Australia this morning. I am glad that you enjoyed today’s post.
Beautiful and timely post. Yes, I did notice you added bible verses to your daily blog. Lovely addition, a brief thought to ponder as I go about my day. Thank you. Stay well.
Tania, this was just perfect! Breaking down scriptures verse by verse is so encouraging and helpful in growing closer to God. Thank you for taking time to research , write, and share with us today. Many blessings for a beautiful week! Amanda Gibson 🙂