Thou Art My Refuge and My Portion

2 Kings 6:1–7:20; Acts 15:36–16:15; Psalm 142:1-7; Proverbs 17:24-25

Thou Art My Refuge and My Portion
I looked on my right hand, and beheld, but there was no man that would know me: refuge failed me; no man cared for my soul. I cried unto thee, O LORD: I said, Thou art my refuge and my portion in the land of the living. – Psalm 142:4-5

How many times have I felt all alone? How many times have I cried out to You? How many times have You shown me that You alone are my refuge and my portion?

Open His Eyes, that He May See
Therefore the heart of the king of Syria was sore troubled for this thing; and he called his servants, and said unto them, Will ye not shew me which of us is for the king of Israel? And one of his servants said, None, my Lord, O king: but Elisha, the prophet that is in Israel, telleth the king of Israel the words that thou speakest in thy bedchamber. And he said, Go and spy where he is, that I may send and fetch him. And it was told him, saying, Behold, he is in Dothan. Therefore sent he thither horses, and chariots, and a great host: and they came by night, and compassed the city about. And when the servant of the man of God was risen early, and gone forth, behold, an host compassed the city both with horses and chariots. And his servant said unto him, Alas, my master! how shall we do? And he answered, Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them. And Elisha prayed, and said, LORD, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the LORD opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha. – 2 Kings 6:11-17

Lord, I pray thee, open my eyes, that I may see!

So Were the Churches Established
And as they went through the cities, they delivered them the decrees for to keep, that were ordained of the apostles and elders which were at Jerusalem. And so were the churches established in the faith, and increased in number daily. – Acts 16:4-5

If people that walked with Jesus needed churches established, how much more do we in this day need them? It says here that churches were established in the faith. What does it mean to be established?

Establish – to bring into being on a firm and stable basis; to bring about permanently; to enact, appoint, or ordain for permanence.

When these churches were established, the Bible says they increased in number daily. Are churches not growing today because while the churches have been established, we have not been ourselves established? We begin and feel like it is permanent, but we want to run at the first pinch. We will stay faithful….unless we get upset about something or offended in some way, or bored. We go through a dry season, or God takes us through a season of waiting, and instead of holding fast and true in those seasons as God does His excellent work in our lives, we cast blame on the church. So many run to the next place at moments of difficulty, saying they are not being fed. But before they run, they pull away and start attending less. Indeed, they are not fed because they aren’t there? People are called to build and establish churches, but they are also called to be part and establish themselves. You are the Holy Spirit’s temple, and you are along with every believer, the church. Faithful in it – through good times and hard times – working together in it.

Yes, I well know there are some churches people need to flee from. Some have “Icabod” written on them. But many a God-fearing, Bible-believing, Holy Ghost-filled church is established with a handful of people now attending because they weren’t as glamorous and didn’t have the number of programs as the bigger church down the street. True, our smaller church resources are more limited. But the Holy Ghost isn’t!!! And the Word isn’t!!! And the power of God isn’t!!! And you know what? At a smaller church, we don’t have the strain of debt that some larger churches have. That strain bleeds down to the people.

Help us, LORD!!! Please help us to be faithful where You have set us. Help me to remain so.

Wisdom is Before Him that Hath Understanding
Wisdom is before him that hath understanding; but the eyes of a fool are in the ends of the earth. – Proverbs 17:24

The wise person has understanding, not because of anything of himself, but because He fills his mind with the Word of God and learns to discern and distinguish between worldly and fleshly things and the things that are of God. As you fill your mind with the Word and meditate on it, you receive counsel from God that brings that wisdom.

By contrast, the fool searches but has no wisdom. His eyes are not fixed on God and God’s Word but the ends of the earth. He looks everywhere except God’s Word for his answers. He looks to the wisdom of man, the knowledge of scholars, the thoughts and meditations of false religions, the occult, and even to drugs for enlightenment.   

Heavenly Father, I come before You today, and I praise You and thank You. There is no God like You. You have been with me when no one else has been in these last days. You alone have been my refuge and my strength. You alone have sustained me and shown me how to navigate this new place I find myself. You alone have set me amid a small but great company of believers that search to know and honor YOU more than they search to be known by many. Thank You for Your church, oh God. Father, in our time in Your precious Word today, we learned of a servant whose eyes were opened to see in the spiritual. I ask today that You open my eyes in that way. Help me see what is unseen by the natural eye that I might clearly know Your way for me and that I might not fall into the enemies’ traps. Show me Your glory, Lord. Set me on FIRE once again and refill me to overflowing with Your Holy Spirit that I might be a light in my world today. Please help me keep Your Word always before me to meditate on it day and night and receive understanding from Your Holy Ghost. That I might know You, lift Your Son, and share the GOOD NEWS that He died for in this dark and dying world. I ask these things in Jesus’ Name. Amen! Amen!