“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.”
Psalm 46:1
There have been times in my life when I have felt this in a very deep and real way.
There have also been times in my life when I did not feel like God was much of a refuge at all.
The difference in those times had much more to do with me than it did God.
When God did not feel like a refuge or a source of help, it was often because I was viewing Him more as a magic genie who would solve all my problems. God created a world that works according to certain rules of nature and in response to the choices we make.
I have no doubt that God can interject Himself into the everyday events of our lives, but He often, even usually, does not. Some view this as a reason to doubt their faith in God. However, I do not believe that true faith is a faith based on what God does for us. It is based on who God is.
Genies in stories have the power to grant their master anything they want. But genies are always causing them trouble. The value in a genie is not in their character but in their utility.
While fictional genies care little for humans. God cares deeply about us. Rather than constantly trying to subvert our desires, He created a universe rooted in the Good, the True, and the Beautiful.
God is our refuge and strength and a present help in trouble, not just because He has the power to intervene, but because He longs for our good. The God who created the universe cares deeply about each of us. In that, I find strength and comfort.
A Quote to Consider
“The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians: who acknowledge Jesus with their lips, walk out the door, and deny Him by their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable.”
-Brennan Manning
I first heard this quote when it was included in a popular song within Christian circles. The moral of this quote was true when Manning wrote it and when it was quoted in song, just as it is today.
Personally, I wonder if it is more true today. Likely, though, we all see the challenges of our time more acutely than those of past eras.
There are people who look at a quote like this and think the lifestyle referenced covers things like drinking, carousing, and other vulgarities. However, the lifestyle that, from my perspective, most leads to unbelief is any lifestyle that lacks love. Our lack of love, generosity, kindness, and grace is what, far too often, leads to the rejection of God.
When we are kind to those who can do nothing for us, when we help those without power, when we share our time with those who can be a little annoying, and when we offer grace to those who have done nothing to deserve it other than existing, we show the character of God to a doubting world.
When we are short-tempered with those who disagree with us, when our behavior is obviously self-serving, and when we fail to extend a helping hand to those in need, we confirm to a watching world that our lifestyle does not match the character we claim God possesses.
When our words proclaim the love of God, but our lives offer little evidence of love, the world finds our professions of a loving God simply unbelievable.
Prayer
Lord,
Help me trust You not because of what You do for me, but because of who You are. Teach me to rest in Your refuge and reflect Your love, kindness, and grace to a watching world.
Amen.
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