“The salvation of the righteous is from the Lord, their refuge in a time of distress. The Lord helps and delivers them; He will deliver them from the wicked and will save them because they take refuge in Him.” (Psalm 37:39-40 HCSB)
What is the biggest quality that will separate the sheep from the goats when God judges the world? What will God search for in each of us when we stand before Him? Trust. Trust even when everything seems unfair, trust when our answers haven’t yet materialized, trust when our emotions want us to doubt and fear the worst. Each time we go through moments of distress, we are going through a test of our true faith. Is it just words, or is it real?
God promises that He will be our refuge, but we are the ones who have to take refuge in Him by quieting our fears and choosing trust over emotion. His refuge won’t chase us down and come over us while we are floundering in panic and proclaiming that everything is lost. When we run to Him and hide in the safety of his protection, believing all the while that He will deliver us, then we experience that safety and our hearts can be calm and at peace even when a storm swirls around outside.
These two verses wrap up this beautiful chapter of King David, packed with promise after promise. The theme that overarches it all is to stop worrying about injustice. Stop complaining that evil people get away with all the evil that they do, because when all is said and done, God always deal with them in His perfect justice and makes all things right. Stay faithful to Him, and you will see with your own eyes the faithful love of God come true before you. Doubt and blame God for all that is wrong, and you delay your blessings.
God knows how hard it is to be as small and limited as we are. Our vision is so short, our understanding so clouded. He knows that we don’t see the bigger picture of how great His power is and how much authority and protection we already have once we trust in Him. But He asks us just to live in that faith and trust that what He tells us is true.
I have often preached that waiting on God is nothing like the passive defeatist attitude that many Christians have when it comes to overcoming their problems. The Bible’s description of waiting on God is active, and full of determination. You only wait for someone you are certain is coming through for you. When you truly trust in someone, you act as though their promise was as good as done. A child trusts when his father promises that if he gets all his homework done and cleans his room, he’ll get a special present. That little boy gets it all done as fast as he can, then waits by the front door for his dad to pull into the driveway. We need to trust in our Father by acting in that same spirit of expectation. Honor Him with a simple, childlike trust today. Take refuge in Him and see how much He comes through for you.
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