"The Lord is a shelter for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble". Psalm 9:9 NLT
We all need a safe place to go every now and then. It's a shelter and a refuge, somewhere away from the worries and cares of the day and a place that we can unwind and know, that no one will bother us for a while. Most schools these days have such facilities - a special place where a pupil can go if they're not coping well and may be subject to being bullied or pressured. It is their safe place. If King David needed this, you can be sure that we will at some time or another. Everyday life can be stressful. Problems mount up and if they're not resolved quickly, they can become a great burden.
Praise is one way that can bring freedom because it stops Satan in his tracks. He cannot stand to hear such things as prayer and praise and will quickly vanish from our presence. However, when we're stressed and troubled, one of the last things we want to do is praise God. It can be such a sacrifice to do this (Hebrews 13:15) and it takes all we have got to put it into action; but, once we do, the chains that the enemy has been trying to bind us with, fall off.
Focus on Jesus, not the problem. The problem will eventually go away when we fix our eyes and full attention on to Him. James 4:8, tells us to, 'Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.' But be aware, praise should never be governed by our emotions. God is worthy of our praise all the time, whether we feel like praising Him, or not. Psalm 34:1 tells us 'I will praise the Lord at all times. I will constantly speak His praise.' We should develop a life of praise.
Focusing on Jesus is a must for our daily walk and survival. When we are up against problems, the ones that are so difficult to deal with, we need to re-focus. If we don't re-direct our focus, the problem will consume our life. God is our shelter and our refuge in times of trouble but, we need to be full-on with Him. When we praise Him, which should be a regular occurrence, our praise should be our all - everything we have, and it should be at all times, not just when we think about it, but in the good and the not so good times.
Many people do a daily Keep Fit schedule which may include, jogging, swimming and general exercise. It is a great way to keep in shape both mentally and physically. In the same way, we also need to develop a Keep Fit Plan for our daily walk with Jesus. This should include, praise, prayer, listening to God, reading our bibles and generally keeping focused on Him. When we do this, we are guaranteed to be in constant connection with Jesus - our shelter and refuge.
Copyriight 2021 Grahame Howard
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