Psalm
91:1-6 “He who
dwells 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 I will trust.” Surely He
shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the perilous
pestilence. He shall cover you with His feathers, and under His wings
you shall take refuge; His truth shall be your shield
and buckler. You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, nor of
the arrow that flies by day, nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness,
nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday.”
This week, Michael writes
that the crisis is here. Oswald Chambers said, “When the crisis comes and courage is required, God expects his people
to have such confidence in Him that they will be the reliable ones.” Courage
is defined as: [L., the heart.] Bravery;
intrepidity; that quality of mind which enables men to encounter danger and
difficulties with firmness, or without fear or depression of spirits; valor;
boldness; resolution. It is a constituent part of fortitude; but fortitude
implies patience to bear continued suffering. Where do we find courage? In
whom do we rely? In whom do we trust?
Pestilence is a virulent
epidemic or pandemic that is extremely contagious and spreads without
resistance through human populations. Individuals and populations have no
defenses against its virulent attack. The crisis is here. Amid the
pestilence of the Corona Virus, our bodies may be defenseless, but Isaiah
40:31 says, “They that wait upon
the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount upon wings as
eagles. They shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.” Jesus
Christ drew a stark contrast between the enemy’s (the devil’s) purpose and the
Lord’s purpose. In John 10:10 Jesus said, “The thief cometh not but for to steal, to
kill and to destroy. I am come that they might have life and have it more
abundantly.” God will take what the enemy meant for evil and turn it
to our good. 1 John 4:4 says, “You are
of God, little children and have overcome them, because greater is he that is
in you than he that is in the world.”
Psalm 143:9 “Deliver
me, O Lord, from my enemies; In You I take shelter.”
The authorities have said
that we should “shelter in place.” Our shelter is under the shadow of the
Almighty. God alone is our refuge and strength. Because the Lord is our refuge
and strength, Oswald Chambers said, He will break up the private lives of His
saints (those who have been sanctified) so that they will become a thoroughfare
for others to walk on. In our own strength, we cannot bear up under the
stress unless the Lord is our firm foundation. We’re called into the fellowship
of Christ’s suffering when we abide with Him and within His holy Word, Will and
Way.
God prepares our hearts
through His discipleship training. A disciple is a disciplined follower and
student. We will become disciples when we abide with Him and walk with Him
through the trials of life. The storms of life are our training exercises to
discipline us to “trust in the Lord with
all thine heart and lean not unto thine own understanding.” When we
acknowledge Him in all our ways, He will direct our paths. God disciplines
His disciples as they follow Christ. In contrast, Men and women of this secular
world follow after the things of this world and the wisdom of the world. According
to the book of James, the wisdom of this world is full of strife and
contention against God and his word. It is earthly, sensual, and
devilish. In contrast, the wisdom from above results in righteousness sown in
peace by those who make peace.
Let's continue Michael's message on "Finding Rest" in the next post.
In Christ, Brian
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