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“The name of the Lord is a strong fortress; the godly run to him and are safe.” Proverbs 18:10
I read a story awhile back about a couple who were hiking in the mountains. As they were walking through a beautiful mountain meadow a storm suddenly erupted.
The thunder was so loud it seemed to shake the mountain. Lighting crashed around them. In the midst of an unexpected storm they were vulnerable, scared, and helpless.
Then the rain and hail came. There was no place to run to. No place to take shelter. Then one of them noticed in the distance, a cave. More like a indentation in the rocks. But it offered them shelter in the storm. They ran to the spot and waited out the storm in the safety of the rock.
The Bible tells us that God is our shelter in the midst of a storm. When the enemies of worry, doubt, broken, relationships, or consequences from bad decisions attack us, He is the shelter that we can run to.
Three things I notice about this verse. First of all the shelter doesn’t take us out of the storm, it simply gives us protection during the storms.
The second thing is that we as believers in Jesus need to run to the shelter. We are not automatically protected unless we run to the shelter.
The third thing I notice, is that there is no particular place to run to. We don’t run to a place, we run to a name.
You can carry a name with you everywhere. It’s a shelter you have with you during every storm, you encounter.
Run to the shelter of the name of the Lord. He won’t take you out of the storm, but he will carry you through it.
Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself. 1 Corinthians 6:19
If money were no object what kind of house would you have? Would it be a beach home where every evening you could sit on the beach and watch the sunset?
Would it be a cabin in the mountains where you enjoyed wildlife, solitude and scenery on a daily basis?
Let your mind wander. Dream a bit. Dreaming can be good for the soul. Walk through your dream home. This is where you want to spend your time. Enjoy!
Now imagine you are God. What kind of home would you like to live in? When God formed you in your mothers womb he created you to be the man or woman he wanted to live in. The problem is, He couldn’t live in a place that sin had desecrated. His beautiful home was ravaged like a home destroyed by fire.
But when we turn our lives over to Jesus, he doesn’t reconstruct our home, he recreates it!
Through Jesus we are chosen, a new creation, a brand new temple God himself is pleased to enjoy. You are the Father’s dream home.
Of course, He’s not done yet. Even though we are a new creation there’s still some stuff from the old place. Poor choices…greed…lust…worry…anger, you get the idea. But you are new. You are chosen. With all the blemishes you have you are still His creation.
No one else is like you because he only wanted one of you. You are enough. You are chosen. You are His temple (dream home).
Now you are no longer a slave but God’s own child. And since you are his child, God has made you his heir. Galatians 4:7
In the early 1960’s a picture was published of John F Kennedy Jr playing under the desk of his father, John F Kennedy, president of the United States.
This picture was taken during a time of world crisis, yet John Jr played at the feet of his daddy, totally oblivious to the crisis at hand.
He didn’t understand the severity of what was going on around him. All he knew was he was with daddy and that’s all that mattered.
He didn’t realize that his dad was, at that time, considered the most powerful man in the world. He was with dad and that was all that mattered.
Throughout the Bible, fathers are honored and respected. None of them were perfect. Some were evil. But the standard of fatherhood rested in Jehovah God not in men.
Because of Jesus, I am a child of God! I don’t need to worry when others attack me.
When others fail to have compassion over my situation, my Heavenly Father understands.
When Truth is hard to find, He knows and ordains what goes on in secret. Even when hardships come my way He gives me strength in the attacks.
Even the best earthly dads fail regardless of their intentions. But your Heavenly Father never fails.
He never loses his temper but is always patient.
He believes in you regardless of how many mistakes you make.
No matter what’s going on around you, the seen and the unseen, He’s never surprised, never frustrated, never second guessing his decisions.
He understands you at every stage of life. As an infant he feeds you. As a teenager he guides you. As an adult he encourages you. As a senior citizen he strengthens you.
You are a child of the most high. Live in the power of his promises.
“So you also are complete through your union with Christ, who is the head over every ruler and authority.”
Colossians 2:10
Have you ever set a goal for yourself and experienced the joy of seeing it through to completion?
You see it every spring during graduation season. Young men and women completing high school or college. Exciting times! A new chapter begins. All the hard work and time paid off! Bring on life!
You see it in the eyes of a bride and a groom, as they tie the knot, and promise to love each other for the rest of their lives. To share life together. To grow together.
You see it in the eyes of a young professional as he leaves the office of his superiors, realizing that he has attained the level of his career that he was hoping for.
You see it in the eyes of parents as they watch their children grow. Birth. Beginning of their school years. Graduation from high school and college. Marriage. And the birth of grandchildren.
All of these things and more tend to bring the thought , “Now my heart is full. Now I am complete.”
While all of these things are good, it doesn’t take long for us to realize completion doesn’t come in those things.
Graduation doesn’t guarantee success. Marriage vows, don’t guarantee, lifelong commitment. Our children take different paths than we hoped they would.
When bad things in life happen, it’s easy to play the victim. It’s easy to play the blame game. It’s easy to seek other external things that will make us feel complete.
But for those of us who are believers in Jesus. For those of us that have decided to make him Lord of our lives, we realize that our completion doesn’t come from anything here on earth. Not from success, not from relationships, not from anything life has to offer.
I am complete because of Jesus. Nothing I did made it happen. Nothing I can do will sustain it. Jesus is all I have ever needed. Jesus, is everything I will ever need.
So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God. Romans 5:11
I am a friend of God.
Let that sink in. The creator/sustainer of the universe calls me his friend.
Friends enjoy each others company.
Friends may not talk for a season for whatever the reason. But when they reconnect it’s as if they were never apart.
Friends know each others likes and dislikes.
Friends are patient with each other and their strange quirks.
Friends defend each other.
Friends don’t measure the depth of their friendship by expectations.
I am a friend of God! I have nothing to offer Him, but through Jesus He gives me more than I can imagine.
Mike Fisk & Built with Grace 