2 Chronicles 7:14

Verse of the Day Devotion: 2 Chronicles 7:14 

“If my people who are called by my name humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” – 2 Chronicles 7:14       

This verse takes place upon the completion of the Temple by Solomon, after which God appears to him.  “Thus Solomon finished the house of the LORD and the king’s house. All that Solomon had planned to do in the house of the LORD and in his own house he successfully accomplished.  Then the LORD appeared to Solomon in the night and said to him: “I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for myself as a house of sacrifice.” 2 Chronicles 7:11-12. 

At this point, God tells Solomon how they were to address difficult times due to wrongdoing.  We see this idea in verse 13 where God speaks of when national judgement comes.  “When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command the locust to devour the land, or send pestilence among my people,”  2 Chronicles 7:13.  He would no doubt do these things only in order to bring His people back to the ways of righteousness.  Let us look at what this focus verse says and apply it to us when we go through hard times because we turn from God.

The first thing He says is who this verse applies to.  To those who are His.  Those who are called by His name.  In our time those are Christians.  They are the new Jerusalem, Gods people.  It is not speaking here to those who are not Christians.  Yes, they do need to come to Him, giving up their old lives and committing themselves to Christ.  However, this verse speaks to those who have already given themselves to Him. 

And now are we to approach Him when we stumble?  We are to go to Him in humility, humbling ourselves before Him.  We are to bow before Him, acknowledging we have sinned against Him, putting aside any pride or arrogance we may have, recognizing that it was us who decided to sin, no matter what came our way that led us in that direction.  The only two reasons we can honestly give is we either have not studied His Word to see it is wrong, or we choose to do wrong.  Therefore, we are to come to Him in humility understanding we are totally at fault.  Next, in our humility, we are to pray and seek His face.  We must go to Him and acknowledge what we have done and ask Him to forgive us.  And it must come from the depths of our being, not simply saying the words believing this will make things OK.  And we must commit to turn away from our wicked ways, truthfully working toward removing these evil ways from our lives. 

And when we do all this, with complete honesty from the depths of our heart, He will see this and hear our heart crying out to Him and will forgive us and heal whatever difficulties came forth from what we did.  It is important that we do not only go through the motions but truly are repentant and broken because of our sin.  When we do this, then God will truly forgive us and make us whole again.  So I encourage us all to go to Him when we realize we have sinned and humbly confess them to God in reality and humility.  God desires us to come before Him this way, and He will make good on this promise when we do.

William Funkhouser MDiv, ThD, Founder and President of True Devotion Ministries. 

Proverbs 14:29

Verse of the Day Devotion: Proverbs 14:29  

“He who is slow to anger has great understanding, but he who is quick-tempered exalts folly.” – Proverbs 14:29        

One thing I have definitely noticed during this difficult time is what this verse speaks of.  In watching what is happening, we see people punching and beating people in the streets.  We also see the destruction of public and private property, and also massive retaliation for what I deem as frivolous offenses.  Anger appears to be the most observed emotion today.  

Now, I understand that often these things happen simply because people just want to be destructive.  There are organizations whose  total purpose for being involved is to wreak havoc and fuel the hostilities of others.  However, there are many who are just angry in response to a wrong done to them, either physically or verbally.  And many times, anger at someone will often cause them to be angry in return.  And this is the main idea regarding this verse.  Solomon writes in our focus verse that we are to be slow to anger, because they are those who exhibit great understanding.  Matthew Henry in his commentary on Proverbs states that meekness is wisdom.  He goes on to say, “He rightly understands himself, and his duty and interest, the infirmities of human nature, and the constitution of human society, who is slow to anger, and knows how to excuse the faults of others as well as his own, how to adjourn his resentments, and moderate them, so as by no provocation to be put out of the possession of his own soul.”  What he is saying is that he is capable of keeping control of his thoughts and feelings and is not one to retaliate for another’s anger. 

Paul writes the following to the Ephesians.  “Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” Ephesians 4:1-3.  Uncontrolled anger is one of the biggest reasons for dis-unity.  It can also harden the hearts of the people we are witnessing the truth of Christ to.  James, understanding this wrote the following, “This you know, my beloved brethren. But everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger; for the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God.” James 1:19-20.  If we desire to show the righteousness of God in us, we must temper any times where we find ourselves getting angry.  If we cannot control our anger, we may find ourselves unable to do the work God has called us to do.

In closing, let us be careful that we maintain control in all situations so that our witness of Christ will remain intact and powerful.  At the end of our focus verse, Solomon states that a quick temper exalts folly.  He may be thinking that he is magnifying himself, however, the vast majority of the time, his folly is all that is exalted.  Let us all pray that we can remain in control of our emotions so that we can share the gospel and teach our brothers and sisters in a way that brings glory to Christ.

William Funkhouser MDiv, ThD, Founder and President of True Devotion Ministries. 

Psalm 32:5

Verse of the Day Devotion: Psalm 32:5  

“I acknowledged my sin to You, And my iniquity I did not hide; I said, I will confess my transgressions to the LORD; And You forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah.” – Psalm 32:5      

This verse can be an incredible comfort to us whenever we sin.  In earlier verses, we see how blessed the person is who God has forgiven.  “How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven; Whose sin is covered!”  Psalm 32:1.  We who are Christians and have truly repented and committed our lives completely to Christ have been forgiven.  We could not do anything on our behalf, all we could do was accept the work He did on the cross.  And David next goes further in that our sin is not even charged against us.  “How blessed is the man to whom the LORD does not impute iniquity, And in whose spirit there is no deceit!” Psalm 32:2 He has pardoned us completely, we are no longer charged as guilty.

David then speaks about what it was like to attempt to keep silent.  “When I kept silent about my sin, my body wasted away Through my groaning all day long. For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; My vitality was drained away as with the fever heat of summer. Selah.” Psalm 32:3-4.  There was no peace in his life when he kept it all in him.  He speaks of God’s work in bringing him to the place where He finally brings it all out.  Note the wording, “my body wasted away tthrough my groaning all day long.” And also, “For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me,”  We do not know the specific circumstances that brought him to this point, however, it is easy to see that it was heavy on him. 

However, he finally chooses to bring it to God and not try to hide it anymore.  We see this in our focus verse.  “I acknowledged my sin to You, And my iniquity I did not hide; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD”; And You forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah.” Psalm 32:5.  He admitted to himself that he could no longer keep silent about this, so he confessed it to God.  And what did God do? He forgave him.  And you can tell from the verses that follow David was at peace with God again. 

I have found that in my life, if I slip up and fall into sin, it is so much better to admit to having done it, confessing it to God, and then working with Him to not fail Him again.  Unfortunately, I am still not perfect, I will not lie.  However, I know my heart yearns for His ways and immensely desires to please Him in all I do.  I have learned that it is better to acknowledge my failure to Him and ask for His abounding forgiveness.  He knows everything anyway, so it is impossible for me to hide it from Him, so I might as well confess it.  Sometimes I simply confess it with all honesty, and sometimes I weep in the process.  But after I call on Him, a peace comes upon me, and I then move on, for I know He has, in the words of David, He forgave the guilt of my sin.

I want to encourage everyone that when you recognize you have sinned, just bring it before God.  Do not try to keep it a secret, for God already knows.  And the fact He knows the end from the beginning (Isaiah 46:10), He knew you would do it and He will forgive. So, come clean, confess the transgression to God.  And He will forgive you and remove the guilt from you.  Believe me, it will bring much peace into your life. 

William Funkhouser MDiv, ThD, Founder and President of True Devotion Ministries. 

Psalm 14:1

Verse of the Day Devotion: Psalm 14:1 

“For the choir director. A Psalm of David. The fool has said in his heart, there is no God. They are corrupt, they have committed abominable deeds; There is no one who does good.” – Psalm 14:1      

This is a verse where, if it is read in the way our modern society understands it, we would miss the true meaning.  The Hebrew word fool has the idea of a wicked, vile, or contemptable individual: one who has an unclean heart and who rejects the idea of a loving, infinite, and all powerful being.  They do this by claiming, ‘There is no God, and only a fool or ignorant person would think there is.’    

Now, the word fool is not to be used in the same way we use the word atheist.  For it has a broader meaning than this.  An atheist is one who denies the very existence of God.  There are some who totally deny He exists, and this is the main thought communicated here.  However, there are other ways to look at this.  For instance, there are some who acknowledge the existence of a god, but not the true God.  The idea here is that they do not necessarily deny an infinite God, however they do not believe He has any role in their lives. They do not accept it as having anything to do here.  This is the idea of deism, which rejects revelation from God as a source of religious knowledge, for He simply created everything and then left it alone.  They assert that reason and observation of the natural world are sufficient to establish the idea that God exists.  However, there is no communication with God.  Then, there are those who choose a god with attributes that are more pleasing then the attributes of the true God.  Basically, they accept the idea there is a god, but they pick or create it based on what makes them feel good, or what they can accept.   

Isaiah states the following regarding the fool or unbeliever.  “For a fool speaks nonsense, And his heart inclines toward wickedness: To practice ungodliness and to speak error against the LORD, To keep the hungry person unsatisfied And to withhold drink from the thirsty.” Isaiah 32:6.  According to Isaiah, the vile person speaks of things that can be labeled nonsense.  He tends toward ungodliness, speaking falsehoods against the true God, and does not help those who need their assistance, but ignores their plight. 

Going back to our focus verse, David ends by saying ‘There is no one who is good.’  And he is correct.  Paul essentially quotes this verse in his letter to the Romans.  “as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one;”   Romans 3:10.  None of us are perfect.  Paul again says it better than I can.  “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”  Romans 3:23.  But Christ paid the penalty for our sins, and by accepting what He has done and living our lives fully devoted to Him, we are no longer a fool as David said above, but we are His handiwork.  “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” Ephesians 2:8-10.  And one of the good works God called us to and prepared us for, is to live in such a way that we can be a witness to those who, in our focus verse were denoted as fools, so they can become His handiwork as well. 

William Funkhouser MDiv, ThD, Founder and President of True Devotion Ministries. 

Psalm 19:1

Verse of the Day Devotion: Psalm 19:1  

“The heavens are telling of the glory of God; And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands.” – Psalm 19:1     

One of the most beautiful things I enjoy looking at is a starry sky on a cloudless night.  I look up and see the many lights that fill the night sky and ponder just how many are there.  The vast majority of these ‘lights’ are stars that are relatively close to our planet.  Let us look at a few things.  Light travels at approximately 186,000 miles per second.  Our sun is approximately 93 million miles away.  It is so far, it takes approximately 499 seconds, or 8.32 minutes for its light to reach earth.  Whatever happens at the sun takes 8 minutes for us to see it. 

Now, our closest star, aside from the sun, is Proxima Centauri.  In contrast to the sun where the light takes 8.32 minutes to reach the earth, it takes approximately 4.23 years for light from the nearest star to reach the earth.  And according to universetoday.com, there are at most 8,479 stars visible from earth.  Going even farther, there are around 10,000 galaxies visible, each with millions of stars in each,  in just one image, using the Hubble Ultra Deep Field telescope.  According to NASA on the website imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov, the closest galaxy to our milky way is some 25,000 light years away.  These are astonishing numbers.  It takes light approximately 25,000 years to reach earth. And this is the closest galaxy.   Just this alone shows the vastness of the universe.  And it is understood that the universe extends far beyond our ability to even view the outer regions of its existence. 

Many scientists believe that all matter has either existed eternally, or that it came into existence from  nothing.  These are the only possibilities aside from being a creation of God.  For nothing to create something does not make sense since change only happens based on an outside event.  And this event would have required something to trigger it, therefore it had to exist prior to what was the cause of its creation.   And, if it has always existed, it would have run out of energy and it would have died at some point, also in eternity past.

Therefore, this universe had to have been created by something that existed prior to the universe.  And it was, by an eternal God who created it for us.  And when we examine this universe, and we see  the immense size of it, the incredible order of this amazing universe, and the beauty as we look out into it from this single planet called earth.  As His word says, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters.” Genesis 1:1-2.  And after having created the heavens and the earth, He brought order and life on the earth, and finally, at the end, man.  (Read Genesis chapters 1-2.)  How can we look at this, His creation, and not see God and His glory in it? 

William Funkhouser MDiv, ThD, Founder and President of True Devotion Ministries. 

Psalm 112:7

Verse of the Day Devotion: Psalm 112:7  

“He will not fear evil tidings; His heart is steadfast, trusting in the LORD.” – Psalm 112:7      

One of the things we need to always remember, as Christians, is that we have nothing to fear when we trust in the Lord.  Lets look at the verses prior to this to fully understand the context by which our focus verse is written.  For if we understand and apply its message, we can live in peace no matter our circumstances. 

The author starts with, “Praise the LORD! How blessed is the man who fears the LORD, Who greatly delights in His commandments. His descendants will be mighty on earth; The generation of the upright will be blessed. Wealth and riches are in his house, And his righteousness endures forever.” Psalm 112:1-3.  He is saying here that blessed, or happy, is the one who fears the Lord, who love to obey His commandments and delights in His ways.  We see this same idea in psalm one, where the writer states, “How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, Nor stand in the path of sinners, Nor sit in the seat of scoffers!  But his delight is in the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates day and night.” Psalm 1:1-2.  Those who fear God and follow His ways are blessed of the Lord. 

Next, we read, “Light arises in the darkness for the upright; He is gracious and compassionate and righteous. It is well with the man who is gracious and lends; He will maintain his cause in judgment. For he will never be shaken; The righteous will be remembered forever.”  Psalm 112:4-6.  When hard times come, which they will, God will save him through the difficult times, not necessarily from them.  The righteous may still get sick or be bereaved by the loss of someone close.  Or they may lose property either by  theft or legal issues.  However, all will work out to those who trust in the Lord.  Paul put it this way in his letter to the Romans.  “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” Romans 8:28.  And also, the righteous will be gracious and helpful whenever needed, with God providing the means of the assistance he will provide.

And because of all this, if we delight in Him and His laws and commands, the fact is we are blessed by God almighty, He will be with us and protect us no matter what happens.  And even though things do not look good, we must go beyond how we perceive our situation and trust God has it under control.  As our focus verse states, “He will not fear evil tidings; His heart is steadfast, trusting in the LORD.” Psalm 112:7.  We have no reason to fear evil that comes our way because God has this.  Our hearts should be steadfast in the reality that we can trust Him that He is taking care of us, no matter what it looks like.  We should do as the writer of Proverbs put it.  “Trust in the LORD with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight.” Proverbs 3:5-6.

William Funkhouser MDiv, ThD, Founder and President of True Devotion Ministries. 

Isaiah 40:8

Verse of the Day Devotion: Isaiah 40:8 

“The grass withers, the flower fades, But the word of our God stands forever.” – Isaiah 40:8     

Some years ago, I took an Old Testament History class I listened to online from Covenant Theological Seminary.  I remember after each forty-five-minute class, the professor would end the lesson with this verse.  And the more I looked at it, the more meaning I have derived. 

Starting with verse six we read, “A voice says, Call out. Then he answered, What shall I call out? All flesh is grass, and all its loveliness is like the flower of the field.” Isaiah 40:6.  Isaiah here declares the frailty of man.  He states regarding all flesh, not just a particular family or people or nation, but all flesh on the earth.  He compares it to plant life in the field.  All that men are or have, even their highest accomplishments, are simply like the grass of the field, weak and soon to vanish, soon to be brought to nothing.  And our loveliness is like the flowers in the field.  The theologian Albert Barnes puts it this way in his commentary on Isaiah,  “The idea is, that the plans of man must be temporary; and all that appears great in him must be like the flower of the field.”  Man’s ways look good for a season, just as the grass and the flowers look for a time.  However, as the next verse says, it is not permanent. 

“The grass withers, the flower fades, When the breath of the LORD blows upon it; Surely the people are grass.” Isaiah 40:7.  This verse speaks of the frailty of man being like the grass and flowers in a heavy wind.  The term ‘wind of Jehovah’ is a Hebraism, referring to nothing more than a strong wind, especially the well-known hot winds in the east that destroys every green thing in its path.  This idea is also spoken of in in the psalms where we read, “As for man, his days are like grass; As a flower of the field, so he flourishes. When the wind has passed over it, it is no more, And its place acknowledges it no longer.” Psalm 103:15-16. 

When we come to our focus verse, we see a comparison of man and the Word of the Lord.  “The grass withers, the flower fades, But the word of our God stands forever.” Isaiah 40:8.  The beginning of verse seven is repeated, but now not focusing on the frailty of man, as with the previous verse, but this time focusing on the permanence of God’s Word.  As men and his ways are temporary and eventually ended, God’s Word is permanent.  As an example, a man builds a house for him and his family, but eventually that house may be destroyed, and another built at a later time.  Or maybe someone comes up with a new idea which is well accepted, but in a short period of time, someone else comes up with a another idea which is deemed better than the first.  Nothing man does is permanent; however, what God does and says is eternal, both past and future. 

This verse shows the greatness of God in comparison to the frailty of man.  What man says and does will fade away, for we are here for just a season.  However, God’s Word is eternal, unchanging, and absolute truth.  We should keep this in mind as we live our lives.  God’s Word is true, and we should follow it and not ignore or forget it.  His ways are forever, ours are not.  However, His Word says, as Christians, we will live eternally with Him in a glorious life.  And in that I totally believe and cannot wait.

William Funkhouser MDiv, ThD, Founder and President of True Devotion Ministries. 

Malachi 3:6

Verse of the Day Devotion: Malachi 3:6 

“For I, the LORD, do not change; therefore you, O sons of Jacob, are not consumed.” – Malachi 3:6      

One of the most comforting things for me regarding God is the fact that is stated in this focus verse: that being God does not change.  He declared this to Israel (the sons of Jacob) because they had disobeyed Him, and He had not consumed or destroyed them.  His plan for mankind was from before the beginning, and He was going to complete this plan.  “All who dwell on the earth will worship him, everyone whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who has been slain.” Revelation 13:8.  He knew those who would accept Him, and He also knew those who would not.  And He was/is consistent in this plan.  He will not change His mind.  “God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent; Has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?” Numbers 23:19.

Here are a couple of the many scriptures that speak of God as unchangeable.  “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” Hebrews 3:8.  From eternity past through eternity future, God has not nor will He ever change.  He shall never question anything that He has done.  “But Samuel said to Saul, I will not return with you; for you have rejected the word of the LORD, and the LORD has rejected you from being king over Israel. As Samuel turned to go, Saul seized the edge of his robe, and it tore. So Samuel said to him, “The LORD has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today and has given it to your neighbor, who is better than you. Also the Glory of Israel will not lie or change His mind; for He is not a man that He should change His mind.” 1 Samuel 15:26-29.  And finally, James puts it this way.  “Every good thing given, and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.” James 1:17.

Because of His immutability we have confidence that everything spoken or written by God is still true and can be depended on.  We can therefore trust everything we read in His word.  Remember, in Genesis 3 where He declared the coming of the Messiah.  “And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise him on the heel.” Genesis 3:15.  And as stated above in Revelation 13:8, Jesus’ crucifixion for our sins was declared before the world was created. 

Every prophetic declaration in the scriptures was or will be fulfilled as promised.  We should have no doubts about this.  And those of us who are true Christians should rejoice, because our future as told to us is a beautiful eternal existence in the presence of God.  And also, every word in the Holy Scriptures are still to be adhered to because He is unchangeable.  It is important that we spend time every day studying His Word and make what He has said the way we live.  It can be easy sometimes to fall into errant beliefs, which is why it is important to spend time everyday in prayer and study of the scriptures.  I have found it more than beneficial in my life. 

William Funkhouser MDiv, ThD, Founder and President of True Devotion Ministries. 

Exodus 3:11

Verse of the Day Devotion: Exodus 3:11  

“But Moses said to God, who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the sons of Israel out of Egypt?” – Exodus 3:11     

Moses was pasturing the sheep of Jethro, his father-in-law, when the Angel of the Lord appeared to him in a burning bush.  Because of this, Moses turned aside to see this incredible sight,  that a bush is on fire, but not burning up.  When the Lord saw that he had turned aside, He called out to him from the midst of the bush saying, “Moses, Moses.”  After hearing this, Moses answered “Here I am.”  The Lord then answers, “Do not come near here; remove your sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” Exodus 3:5.  God then goes on.  “He said also, I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. Then Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.” Exodus 3:6.  When God revealed who He was, Moses hid his face, for He was afraid to look directly on Him.  It is probable that Moses did the same as Elijah did.  “When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave. And behold, a voice came to him and said, What are you doing here, Elijah?” 1 Kings 19:13.

The Lord then tells Moses His plan.  “So I have come down to deliver them from the power of the Egyptians, and to bring them up from that land to a good and spacious land, to a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanite and the Hittite and the Amorite and the Perizzite and the Hivite and the Jebusite. Now, behold, the cry of the sons of Israel has come to Me; furthermore, I have seen the oppression with which the Egyptians are oppressing them.  ” Exodus 3:8-9. 

The Lord then tells Moses He has a job for him to do.  “Therefore, come now, and I will send you to Pharaoh, so that you may bring My people, the sons of Israel, out of Egypt.” Exodus 3:10.  However, notice his response in our focus verse.  “But Moses said to God, “Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the sons of Israel out of Egypt?” Exodus 3:11.  This is a humble response, basically asking ‘Who am I to go to Pharaoh and then bring God’s people out of Egypt?  He know doubt believed  he, being simply a shepherd, could not go to Pharaoh, probably thinking he would not listen to him.  However, God told him he would not be doing this by himself.  “And He said, Certainly I will be with you, and this shall be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall worship God at this mountain.” Exodus 3:12

How many times have you been called by God to do something and you were apprehensive to move forward and fulfill the calling?  Maybe you felt you did not have the education needed to do what He had asked of you, or maybe you do not have the oratory skills to make it happen.  Or maybe, just maybe, you do not feel you are worthy to do what is being asked of you.  We must understand that if God calls us to do something, then He knows we can do it.  As God told Moses, ‘certainly I will be with you’, I am sure He will be with us as He was with Moses.  God knows what we can accomplish, and He will not give us more than we can handle.  We must trust completely in God that whatever He calls us to do, we can certainly fulfill.  And, if God says we are worthy, than we are more than worthy.  Humility is a good thing, but we must not let it stop us from doing what He calls, but to do what He calls in a humble manner.

We must be open to whatever calling He has for us, for He has prepared us for this purpose.  And we also  know that He will be with us, guiding us to do it as He desires, and helping us during difficult times.  Just as He did for Moses.

William Funkhouser MDiv, ThD, Founder and President of True Devotion Ministries. 

Proverbs 18:10

Verse of the Day Devotion: Proverbs 18:10 

“The name of the LORD is a strong tower; The righteous runs into it and is safe.” – Proverbs 18:10  

Today’s culture is a mess.  There is so much fear in this world, it is a sad state we find ourselves in.  However, my goal today is not to increase you fear, but to lessen it by looking to the one who can help us through these times.  In times of distress, people will look around for a place the deem as safe.  Some find their safety in entertainment.  They figure if they can take their minds off their situation, they can put this stress out of their mind.  Some will turn to alcohol and drugs to just numb their brain so they will not think about them.  Too often, we simply look for ways to refocus our attention to other things.  However, there is a much better way to handle this.  It is to face it while giving it to God.

Our focus verse tells us that we are to run to Him, and we will be safe.   He is a strong tower, a fortress,  that we can go to and know we are in a good place.  He is a refuge in time of need.  I like the way Adam Clarke puts it.  “What a strong tower is to the besieged, the like is God to His persecuted, tempted and afflicted followers.” Think of families in a town where the enemy is attacking and overtaking them.  When they finally get into the tower and the doors are shut and locked, they can now relax and take a rest.  This is how we can be when we go to God for safety and protection in our trials. 

This idea is found throughout the scriptures.  In Joshua, we read, “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9.  He promised Israel that He would always be with them, so they had nothing to fear.  The writer of Hebrews put it this way to the followers of Christ.  “Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, I will never leave you nor forsake you.  So we can confidently say, The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?” Hebrews 13:5-6.  There is nothing that man can do to us that God cannot and will not defend us from.  And I will add that there nothing that anything can do to us that God cannot defend or protect us from. 

And one final verse, of which I will quote the prophet Isaiah.  “fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Behold, all who are incensed against you shall be put to shame and confounded; those who strive against you shall be as nothing and shall perish. You shall seek those who contend with you, but you shall not find them; those who war against you shall be as nothing at all.  For I, the LORD your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you, “Fear not, I am the one who helps you.” Isaiah 41:10-13. 

No matter what this world brings our way, it has no chance of defeating us if we go to Him for safety.  We have nothing to fear, for as the writer of Hebrews said, “what can man do to me.”  If He is always with us, we have a definite and infinite advantage over anyone or anything that desires to cause us harm.  If we find ourselves in a dangerous situation, we can do what we can, but remember, He is with us at all times.  “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.” Philippians 1:21.  Whether we live or die, Christ is gain to us.  While we live we are His servant and Christ our portion.  If we die, we will gain infinitely because we will be saved from what troubles were waiting for us and are immediately in heaven, our eternal home.  Either way, we win.

William Funkhouser MDiv, ThD, Founder and President of True Devotion Ministries.