True Refuge and True Good
It seems that the psalms speak of God with great regularity as a refuge. Today it was Psalm 142:5 I cry to you, O Yahweh I say, "You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living." That verse -- especially looking at it in both ESV and NLT -- brings a lot of things to mind. You're my Hiding Place Safe in Your embrace I'm protected from the storm that rages And when the waters rise And I run to hide It's in You I find my hiding place... [Steven Curtis Chapman] There are sooo many false things advertised as a safe hiding place. Home. Scholarships. College. Friends. Money. Power. Status. Country. Having a boyfriend (or girlfriend). Having a husband (or wife). A job. Even church. A lot of these things are good things -- truly good, blessings from God. But they are not EVER to be our refuge. They all have storms of their own, they are all part of a fallen world. Even all God's blessings to us are NOT our inheritance -- not even on this earth!!