To What Do We Turn

“The Lord also will be a refuge for the oppressed
A refuge in times of trouble.
And those who know Your name will put their trust in You;
For You, Lord, have not forsaken those who seek You.”
Psalm 9:9-10

Times of trouble. Who hasn’t had them? I mean, this is life, right? And life has a way of eventually bringing some kind of trouble. Trouble makes no distinction between male and female, where you are from, or where you work. In this life we were never promised that once we became Christians trouble would no more touch us. In fact in the above scripture it basically says there will be times of trouble and oppression.

So what do we do when trouble comes? Well, early in my Christian walk, I sort of bought into the thought that if I was a good enough Christian I shouldn’t be having troubles. And if I was I was doing something wrong. So that made for a very tough couple of years. I would gravitate between actually denying that trouble was there, because after all it shouldn’t be happening and if I confessed it was there that meant I owned it, and then turning to all sorts of things to help me get through the trouble.

There are so many things out there in this world, especially in our culture, that we tend to turn to. Even as Christians. Food is a big one for me. Without even thinking or realizing it. Others go to T.V. to escape, or self-help books, or shopping. Sometimes as Christian women we tend to not even notice what we are actually doing this, because after all, we’re not drinking, or partying, or messing around or gambling or any of the other myriad of things that we label as really wrong things to do to escape.

But the above scripture does not tell me that the latest sitcom or reality show or shopping is my refuge in times of trouble, or that I should put my trust in the latest self help book or that piece of chocolate cheesecake. In and of themselves these things are really mute. A piece of cheesecake in moderation is a wonderful treat. A self-help book can give us a tidbit that might give us encouragement. And TV, well, I’m not sure what that will give us. But they become wrong when we turn to them and put our trust into them to get us through the moment. When we run to them when trouble hits, knowingly or unknowingly.

The scripture tells us that God is our Rock, our refuge, our high tower in times of trouble. How does God become our place of refuge and hiding? In the scripture above, it tells us that if we know His Name we will trust Him. But the key is to know His Name. To know Him and His nature and characteristics. That means we take the time to seek Him, to turn to Him, to go to His word and learn of Him. To get to know that no matter what, He can be trusted. For He loves us. Food, TV and other things of this world cannot give us that.

And then we have His precious promise, not that troubles won’t come, but that because we have sought Him, He will not forsake us when that trouble does come our way.

I encourage you today to make time to seek Him. Get to know Him and His Nature. Not just about Him. Allow Him to become your Refuge, your Rock, your High Tower that you immediately run to. He shall never leave you nor forsake you.