Who or What is Your Refuge

We are living in fearful times there's more violence in the world today than ever. How about all the stress we have, look at our future with everything that's happening with Iran and Russia, and on top of it all the stress that comes from work, family and just life in general.

What is a Refuge: a condition of being safe or sheltered from pursuit, danger, or trouble. Something to which one has recourse in difficulties. Anything to which one has resources for a relief, or escape.

Psalm 46:1(NKJV)

God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble.

We need to have a refuge So, what is your refuge?

Here’s a question do you know what stress do to our body’s, and how do you handle stress, how do you handle anxiety; how do you handle worries do you sleep well.

Look at this, a dear farmer with 8 fawns (young deer). A bobcat climb it’s fence; we know this because there where pawprints inside the fence line, the Bobcat chase the fawn but could not catch it. It put so much  stress on the fawn that it’s heart beaded so fast that it send blood to all the parts of its body and braking blood vessels and the fawn bled to death.

The Effects of stress on your body

•        Headaches

•       Increases depression

•       Heartburn

•       Insomnia

•       Rapid breathing

•        Weakened immune system

•       Risk of heart attack

•       High blood sugar

•       Pounding heart

•       High blood pressure

•       Fertility problems

•       Stomachache

•       Missed periods

•       Tense muscles

So, I am asking, what's your refuge, where is your safe place, where do you go when you get bad news, what do you do. Everybody needs a refuge, everyone has a refuge, but it may just be the wrong refuge.

What's your refuge, be honest. Some people might say money is my refuge, or shopping is my refuge, some might say food is my refuge, other might say sports is my refuge, or following my favorite team is my refuge.

Let me show you the results of choosing the wrong refuge.

1.    Distance

A wrong refuge will cause distance between you and God.

Exodus 20:3 (NKJV) 

You shall have no other gods before Me.

A wrong refuge is a god that you are putting before our Lord and Savior. It's going to someone or something first, it's going to something trying to find relief that only God can give you. When you go to the wrong refuge you are going to another god to meet your needs. That's spiritual adultery and it causes distance between you and God. You're going to do something else for comfort rather than going to The Comforter the Holy Spirit.

 

2.    Disappointment

The enemy will tell you to you that you’ll find comfort over here but you never do. You just get more disappointed; you get more depressed. Spiritual depression is when you continuously go to the wrong refuge for relief, which causes depression spiritually. The enemy presents himself to be the spirit of light, he pretends to be the comforter, but there's only one comforter that Jesus Christ.

3.     Destruction

2 Chronicles 16:12-13 (NKJV)

¹² And in the thirty-ninth year of his reign, Asa became diseased in his feet, and his malady was severe; yet in his disease he did not seek the Lord, but the physicians.¹³ So Asa rested with his fathers; he died in the forty-first year of his reign.

Asa died because he didn't seek the Lord first as his refuge, whom he trusted and where he when for help wasn't the Lord but physicians.

As a kid for while my refuge became food, As a young man my refuge became drugs and alcohol, then from drugs and alcohol it became sports. I was going from one season to the next from softball to basketball to bowling. I'm not saying that sports a bad I'm just saying we need to analyze ourself, are you going to the wrong refuge. The wrong refuge almost destroyed my marriage, my family, and my life.

Let me show you the results of Choosing the Right refuge:

1.    Strength

Psalm 46: 1 (NKJV)

God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble,

When you turn to some other refuge there is no strength there, but when you tum to God there is strength to overcome whatever is attacking you.

Example of what people will turn to.

•       Entertainment

•       Sports

•       Shopping

•       self-pity

•       self-indulgent “you pamper yourself”

•        Anger

•        violence

•       Memory hoarding

•       Work

•       Physical Hoarding

•       Exercise

•        busyness

•       relationships

•        television

•       tobacco

•         alcohol

•        food

•       fantasies

•       sexual deviance

•       And that's not all

Where do you go back to when you tired, when you stress, when you're feeling depress, when you anxious, when you're upset.

This is when you should be turning to God, by going to God you have a refuge you have strength. Have you ever awoken in the middle of the night thinking about something that got you upset or a situation that you can't stop thinking about, you wake up the next morning still thinking about it. That’s because you never gave it to God, you are still carrying it.

God will still loves you even when you turn it to the wrong refuge, because of who He is not because of who you are. If you come to him there is strength, there's help and there's no fear because of His perfect love that casts out all fear.

Knowing God as our refuge enables us to trust Him more freely. There is no situation we will ever face that is out of God's control, so the best place to be is under His protection, in Him as your Refuge.

Proverbs 18:10 Living Bible (TLB)

The Lord is a strong fortress. The godly run to him and are safe.

If you are going through a difficult time in your life or you are going through some type of painful situation right now, God is your refuge and your strength a very present help in times of trouble.

God Bless, Israel