Is your life in Christ a refuge or a fight?

 

ref·uge

/ˈrefyo͞oj/

noun

a condition of being safe or sheltered from pursuit, danger, or trouble.

fight

/fīt/

verb

take part in a violent struggle involving the exchange of physical blows or the use of weapons.

noun

a violent confrontation or struggle.

Psalm 91

He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.

I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.

Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence.

He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.

Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day;

Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday.

A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee.

Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked.

Because thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation;

There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.

For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.

They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.

Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet.

Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name.

He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him.

With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation.

God is our comfort, our refuge, and He will be there for us through every possible thing we could face in this life.

Often, we may focus on the trials that are listed in the chapter, and there are many. I would like to look at it from a different way. God, my refuge, is there walking beside, or maybe slightly ahead of me. He is making a way through the terrors by night and the noisome pestilences. 

9 Because thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation;

This verse plainly states that it is up to us to make the Lord our habitation, and we will find refuge there. It is easy to spend our time with the Lord each day, and proceed to go about our day with our minds on the trials of life. I wonder if sometimes we want to focus on the hard times in life, because it makes us feel like a warrior for the Lord. Now, I know that no one consciously thinks that way, but I do think our flesh likes to feel that if we are putting in the work, we are in control.

God, our refuge, is walking before us, and He sees every temptation that we will face, every hard decision that is coming our way, and even the opportunities that we will have to choose offense. He has given us the choice in it all, but if we choose Him, He will give his angels charge over us. What if we would spend more time resting in the joy of refuge, and less time fighting a fight against ourselves?

A well rested Christian is the Christian that will see the struggling souls, and be ready to reach out to those in need.