Bible Reading: Isaiah 23,24 &25: Philippians 1
“For thou hast been a strength to the poor, a strength to the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shadow from the heat, when the blast of the terrible ones is as a storm against the wall” Isaiah 25:4 (KJV)
Indeed, our God is a strength to the poor and the needy in distress, a refuge from the storm and a shadow from the heat. These are the descriptions of the hard side of life. When afflictions like the type that visited Job come ravaging they can be better described as storms and heat. That is what the Psalmist meant by the sun smiting by day and the moon be night. Many lives have been taken by these terrible scourges and some rendered irrecoverable. However, for those who dwell in God’s secret place who are guided and properly led by His word our God shades them under the canopy of His love and mercy. The absence of Christ in the life of men has produced countless suicides and deformations. God’s word come needy in the times of great storms and heat, it becomes a resisting concrete wall in the stormy period and a shadow from heat. This was what the Psalmist meant in Psalm 91:1 (KJV), “He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most high shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.”
The secret place is the revelation of the divine power in His word. God’s word can never fail and it is ever sustaining and operational. Out of his experience in life’s storms, the Psalmist said in Psalm 27:5 (KJV), “For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret place of his tabernacle shall he hide me; He shall set me up upon a rock.” Afflictions shall come presenting itself like a terrible storm, as a child in God’s bosom be at peace because His mercy endures forever. Putting our trust in His mercy as expounded by His word we are guaranteed of His eternal refuge that cannot disappoint. Hear what the scripture had to say in Psalm 57:1 (Amplified) “Be merciful and gracious to me, O God be merciful and gracious to me, For my soul takes refuge and finds shelter and confidence in you; yes, in the shadow of your wings will I take refuge and be confident until calamities and destructive storms are passed.” As I am preparing this devotional piece my mind began to rehearse the song below:-
Refrain:
The Lord’s our Rock, in Him we hide O Jesus is a Rock in a weary land,
A shelter in the time of storm; A weary land, a weary land;
Secure whatever ill betide O Jesus is a Rock in a weary land
A shelter in the time of storm. A shelter in the time of storm.
Truly Jesus is our Rock in a weary land, a place where we have been inundated with issues of life and has become weary. Jesus is our rescuer from the evil waters of life. His promises carry the weight of deliverance irrespective of the severity and intensity of the storms. Hear what the bible says “He shall deliver the in six troubles: yea, in seven there shall no evil touch thee. In famine he shall redeem thee from death: and in war from the power of the sword” Job 5:19-20(KJV)
My dear friend the truth is that storms and afflictions will surely come, it is only expedient for you to stick to the calmer of storms, His name is Jesus Christ.
Prayer: My father I have my confident in Your ability to protect me from the storms of life
Bro. Joel Ezeugo