Happy New Week!

As we count down to the new year, I pray that each day in this Advent will bring forth new testimonies in Jesus name, Amen.

The anchor scripture for today’s meditation is in Psalm 31:19 (NIV), “How abundant are the good things that you have stored up for those who fear you, that you bestow in the sight of all, on those who take refuge in you.”

When I came across this verse again yesterday, I looked up the definition of refuge. I wanted a literal understanding of what it means to take refuge. According to the Merriam Webster, to take/find/seek refuge is to go to or into a place for shelter or protection from danger or trouble. Cambridge Dictionary added unhappiness to the list of things you might be looking for protection from. While Collins Dictionary defines refuge as any place, person, action, or thing that offers or appears to offer protection, help, or relief. It is somewhere, something, or someone you turn to try to protect yourself from physical harm.

And here in Psalm 31:19, David speaks of God’s character as someone who offers this protection that these dictionaries defined. But not only does God protect and shelter us, He wants us to turn to him for that protection, not to our parents, partners, siblings, friends, or neighbours. David describes here, the good things God has stored up for those who take refuge in him. Earlier in the chapter, in verse 9, David asked the Lord to be merciful to him because he was weak and in grief. Here is a good example of taking refuge in God. I highlighted unhappiness in the definitions in the paragraph above because you don’t need to be in physical harm before you turn to God. You don’t need to be in a life-or-death situation before you seek His face. Even when you are confused, God wants you to bring that confusion to Him. When you are weary like David in this verse or when life’s decisions are overwhelming, these are also times God expects us to run to Him. When depression sets in, movies shouldn’t be your first point of call, they will only make you forget for a mere moment. But you should go to your Father who will give you the strength to face and overcome the pain. The One who will give you clarity as you enter His Throne of Grace with boldness. Your Heavenly Father who understands and knows what you are experiencing as you lay everything at his feet should be you first point of call.

I dare say it is impossible to go through misfortunes every single minute of the day, so, if we only seek God in life threatening situations, then, we can never identify as those David was referring to in this verse. Because those that take refuge in God are rooted under His shadow, they take even the little discomforts they feel and experience in their day-to-day to the only One who can help them, where they will be relieved of their burdens. Is God your first point of call?

God bless,

Dasola