Wednesday, June 25, 2014

If the Foundations Are Destroyed, What Can the Righteous Do? part 2



"Be gracious to me, O God, be gracious to me, For my soul takes refuge in You; And in the shadow of Your wings I will take refuge until destruction passes by.  I will cry to God Most High, To God who accomplishes all things for me.  He will send from heaven and save me; He reproaches him who tramples upon me.  God will send forth His lovingkindness and His truth"
 (Psa. 57:1-3). 

Hey Gang:  is this not a terrific verse to begin this day with?   As I have read the Psalms I have been drawn to the word "refuge" and the phrase "under His wings".  Strong's tells me there are eighteen references to God being our refuge in Psalms and six references to the "shadow of God's wings".   
  
The following verse comes from a chapter that is titled "The Thirsting Soul Satisfied in God".  It is a Psalm of David, probably penned when David was in the wilderness of Judah: "When I remember You on my bed, I meditate on You in the night watches, For You have been my help, And in the shadow of Your wings I sing for joy.  My soul clings to You; Your right hand upholds me." (Psa. 63:6-8).  Wow, is that not a power verse?

As the times become more unsettled and perilous times increase we need to prepare to quench the fiery darts of Satan.  Again we turn to Paul for counsel on how we can be assured that our protective devices are in place and strong.  Step one in his action plan: "In addition to all, taking up shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one" (Eph. 6:16).

And his second step in his action plan: "Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil;For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places (Eph. 6:11-12).

We turn to Psalms once again to find out the why's and wherefores for the need for preparing our shields for warfare against the enemy: "For, behold, the wicked bend the bow, They make ready their arrow upon the string to shoot in darkness at the upright in heart" (Psa. 11:2).

Hey folks, let this old codger give you a wee bit of warning-  we may think that we are sufficiently covered and do not need to spend time alone in our prayer closets and additional time keeping our armor up to speed, but no matter how long you have walked with Christ, you will face Satan's fiery arrows.  As a matter of fact I can attest from many years of warfare with the evil one, the closer your walk with the Lord the sharper his darts!

Soooo, my good friends and neighbors, A cautionary note:  At times you may think you are the only one under such attack.  Satan does not discriminate; he attacks every saint of God -full bore- waiting for that opportune time to enter your house with his cousins.  Keep in mind that God is our only refuge and strength and the only safety zone is safely tucked up and 'under His wings'

Don't forget to stop and smell a posy or two in route from one business stop to another.  

Blessings,

Gramps

No comments:

Post a Comment