Our Refuge in...

Our Refuge in Times of Trouble

Scriptures:
Psalm 46: 1 - 7
Points:
1. God is unchanging
2. God is our refuge
3. God is our help
Here we are in the midst of a horrifying situation, an epic epidemic but yet and still the greatest holiday season which holds the most significance if not the greatest of all for us as Christians is soon approaching: Resurrection Day! This world is in a shambles but Palm Sunday is still going to come, Good Friday is still going to come and the celebration of our Risen Savior is still going to take place all over the world! We as Christians are going to celebrate our Risen Savior even in the midst of this coronavirus. Just as the mandates and restrictions which have been placed upon us are bittersweet so shall the messages of the cross leading to Christ’s Resurrection Day be bittersweet! But when we look deeper into the message of the Cross it is because of  our Risen Savior that we can look to our Heavenly Father as our refuge and our present help in the time of trouble. It is because of Jesus and the work that He did on the cross that we can be still and know that God is God! As we are going through this storm, we need to see God as an unchanging God, God as our refuge and God as our help in a time of trouble. God has always been unchanging from the beginning of time. We can take refuge in God and look to Him as our strength because even though things are changing around us, we don’t have to walk in fear or in a distressed state of mine because the God we serve is the same yesterday, today and forever.  God has promised to never leave us nor forsake us. 
I believe this world is in a state of judgement. And as God’s people we need to recognize that this is a time to pray without ceasing to our Waymaker, to our Promise keeper and to our Light in the darkness! Why because as an unchanging God,

•  ”God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent; Has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good? Numbers 23:19
• so that by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have taken refuge would have strong encouragement to take hold of the hope set before us. Hebrews 6:18
• Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow. James 1:17

We want God to be our refuge. But our obedience unto God matters! God is going to judge sin and as believers we are not exempt as long as we are living in this world. God is our refuge, God has saved us and he is our present help in the time of trouble but we must function out of a pure spirit living a holy life with joy on the inside and a peace that passeth all understanding!  God offered us refuge (a condition of being safe or sheltered from pursuit, danger, or trouble) in His Son Jesus Christ: John 3: 16-17: ” 16 For God loved the world in this way: He gave His One and Only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world that He might condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.”
God is our help. Isaiah 41:13 says ” For I am the LORD your God, who upholds your right hand, Who says to you, 'Do not fear, I will help you. " Hebrews 4:14-16 states
” 14 So then, since we have a great High Priest who has entered heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we believe. 15This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet He did not sin. 16So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive His mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.” 
God has extended His loving hand to all who seek Him. The cross of Jesus opened the way directly to Gods throne! That is incredible! We can actually pray and give praise to God by going to His throne in the spirit, into His presence, and in turn receive His mercy and grace.
In summary, knowing that God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble should cause us to pause in the midst of this hectic time and go to God in prayer  praising God for what He has done, for what He is doing right now and for what God yet to do  for each of us. Amen