I have a confession to make, I haven't felt very spiritual lately. I haven't felt very insightful or very wise. I haven't felt like I am learning something extremely insightful or helpful. Lately, I've been plodding along, most days productive, but some days just frustrated with how things have gone. So, when thinking about what to write in this blog, for some reason I thought about a passage that my pastor in Lufkin, Texas gave to me when I had gotten laid off a job. It is in Nahum 1:7.
"The Lord is good, A stronghold in the day of trouble, And He knows those who take refuge in Him."
When I think about that verse, I think about the troubles I was going through. I had just been laid off for the first and only time in my life. Looking back on it, it was one of the best things that could have happened to me, but I didn't see it that way at the time. I really needed a stronghold then and also do every day of this hot, boring summer we are going through now. I need just as much now for God to be that stronghold to protect me from harm and to guide my path and to help me avoid sin and trouble.
Jersualem was a stronghold like what the prophet is talking about. It was a walled city on a mountain referred to in scripture as Mt.Zion. David picked it as his capital for that reason. Because it would be hard to defeat someone in that kind of stronghold. God has also promised to be that kind of stronghold for us. He doesn't forget like I do. If you tell me two things i will forget one. God doesn't forget those who are His or what they have done. You will be rewarded for being faithful. You'll be rewarded for the little things, the people you helped, the encouraging words you said, the faithfulness at your job, the cold cup of water you gave someone on a hot day. The Bible tells us that when we do it to the least of these it is like we are doing it for Him and He won't forget it.
The first part of that verse is also critical. "God is good." John said that God is light and in Him is no darkenss at all. James said that God cannot be tempted by sin and doesn't tempt anyone. This world may lie to us, fool us and leave us shaking our heads at how stupid people can be and how backwards, but God is still good. Some days we may feel like the hind end of a dog that has been kicked, but God is still good. Terrible things may happen, but God is still good. Everything may change in my life, my dog might try to bite me, but God is still good. I can count on that truth and depend on it. It is a constant in the universe.
