The Lord, Our Refuge!

“The Lord is with me, so I will not be afraid. No one on earth can do anything to harm me.” – Psalm 118:6 ERV

Psalm 118:6 is the one of the encouragement verses that all of us should apply, for God is our refuge. (Psalm 91:2) This is because the word of God declares:

The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. (Deuteronomy 31:8)

Therefore, we always ought to have heavenly mindset and constantly reminding ourselves Romans 8:33-39, which declares,

Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written:

“For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

In other words, we must forget and overcome the world (1 John 5:1-5), even though we might be suffering. (John 15:18-21) More than this, we have to concentrate on the kingdom of heaven and how to live righteously before God, our heavenly Father! (Ephesians 4:6) This is because the word of God states, “Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus.” (Matthew 6:33, Philippians 4:19)

Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world. And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever. (1 John 2:15-17)

Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. (2 Corinthians 4:16-18)

Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. (Colossians 3:1-4, 1 Corinthians 10:31, Romans 14:17)