June 21 – Worthless as a puff of wind

O my people, trust in him at all times. Pour out your heart to him, for God is our refuge. Common people are as worthless as a puff of wind, and the powerful are not what they appear to be. If you weigh them on the scales, together they are lighter than a breath of air.  (Psalm 62:8,9  NLT)

Today’s promise is that God is our refuge, and the dictionary defines refuge as: a condition of being safe or sheltered from pursuit, danger, or trouble. And so, if we truly believe that He is our refuge our thoughts, words, feelings, and behavior have to reveal an unshakeable sense of safety and being sheltered. It’s dishonest for us to claim God as our refuge and then live in fear and insecurity.

We can all remember times that we felt safe and sheltered; we can also remember times that we felt scared, unprotected, and abandoned (these memories may even be more vivid). One experience fills us with the faith and confidence to do anything, to conquer the world, to achieve our dreams, and to do what no one else has ever done. The other experience fills us with the fear and doubt that makes us second-guess every decision, convinces us that we’ll never work through the past, that we are not special, and that we cannot expect anything special from God. One experience fills us with life and light, the other with death and darkness.

We are God’s chosen people when we choose to have faith in Him… a faith that’s lived out and radical. When we’re in that state we don’t need to worry about what’s going on in the world, or about other people — powerful or ordinary — because they’re a puff of wind, they’re not what they appear, they’re lighter than a breathe of air. Because we belong to God and He is our Refuge, it is incompatible for our life to be characterized by fear and insecurity.

Why does the Holy Spirit emphasize this point about the powerful? Because this is one of the worst things we can do to ourselves. When we’re impressed with or depressed by the power of evil or of evil people, we have already lost. Evil people and evil itself needs to be considered as worthless as a puff of wind; the ONLY person we should be awed at and impressed with is Almighty God. Though we identify and fight against evil, we cannot be awed by it. This is a secret of success that we have learned over the years… whether you ignore it or take it to heart is up to you. Either way you will reap the consequences.