“Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his…” II Timothy 2:19
Is life hard for you? I do not think that every day is sunny and cheery nor do I believe when the clouds come do we have to stand in the shadows and weep. Life isn’t easy! We are living in an imperfect world and we are humans. Failure can happen at any time. We doubt. Sin exists. We mess up. However, if we know Christ as our Lord and Savior then we can be assured of a foundation that will keep our faith strong, our hope enduring and our joy, even while in this world, steady!
Our faith is laid up in God’s Word. Our foundation, the Holy Bible, is sure and steadfast. Are you in need of refuge? Are you in the depths of a trial that has left you clinging to despair instead of fleeing to Jesus for refuge? David starts Psalm 57 with a huge plea, “Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto me: for my soul trusteth in thee: yea, in the shadow of thy wings will I make my refuge, until these calamities be overpast.” He was surrounded by Saul and his men wanting to kill him and he knew God was his refuge.
How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord,
Is laid for your faith in His excellent word!
What more can He say than to you He hath said—
To you who for refuge to Jesus have fled?
To dismay is to lose suddenly our courage. That is easy to do but then God reminds us of WHO HE IS!!! “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.” In Hebrews 4:16, we are seeing that no dismay is needed! We can come boldly before His throne. We can and will find mercy and grace. Sometimes when life is getting heavy and wants to weigh you down, trust in Him and pass everything along to Him!
Fear not, I am with thee, oh, be not dismayed,
For I am thy God, and will still give thee aid;
I’ll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand,
Upheld by My gracious, omnipotent hand.
Do you really believe that God is going to come down and help you over that flowing river of troubles? Isaiah 43:2 says, “When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee:…” Let the trials come and let them overwhelm us; we aren’t going to stay under the flow but we can rise above and remember that our God will be with us in trouble.
When through the deep waters I call thee to go,
The rivers of sorrow shall not overflow;
For I will be with thee thy trouble to bless,
And sanctify to thee thy deepest distress.
Rest (repose) is such a sweet word. In Psalm 116:7, the psalmist says, “Return unto thy rest, O my soul; for the Lord hath dealt bountifully with thee.” I have had to turn away from trials and walk back into that rest. In doing so, I had to cry out to God and ask Him to return my repose and to not let my enemy win.
James 4:7, “Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” I’m determined to arm myself with God’s Words and these beautiful hymns and sing them loudly back at my enemy. Foundations are places to hide, areas to run to so as not to leave our God. I’m glad for my God and that He is not only a foundation but a strong tower.
