[The following blog was originally posted on August 12, 2022. It was entitled A PLACE OF REFUGE, THE E.R. ROOM. I have made a few changes to the original text that came to mind as I was re-engaged with this topic. I encourage you to read this post and pray that the Lord will prepare you for the upcoming turmoil that this nation and the world will experience. Our refuge is in the Lord. There is no fear in the Presence of the Lord. Our nation is in the hands of the Lord. He will be doing a mighty work in our midst.
I encourage you to read Psalm 46. Psalm 46 is an account when David was facing a tumultuous time; but he kept his focus on His God. We, too, need to keep our focus on our God. Psalm 46:10-11 (NKJV) records, “Be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth. The LORD of hosts is with us; The God of Jacob is our refuge.” Selah.
The following is the post from August 2022:
The Hebrew word for refuge is machseh. Proverbs 14:26 says, “In the fear of the Lord there is strong confidence, And His children will have a place of refuge.” (NKJV)
The Strong’s concordance #4268 defines the word as: “A shelter, refuge, protection, fortress; a hope; a place of trust; a shelter from storm…Machseh is translated “trust” in Ps. 73:28, where the psalmist has put his trust in the Lord (that is, he made the Lord his trustworthy place or shelter)In the present reference, a fortress is suggested.”
In Psalm 62:5-7 (NKJV), The psalmist says, “My soul, wait silently for God alone, For my expectation is from Him. He only is my rock and my salvation; He is my defense; I shall not be moved (shaken). In God is my salvation and my glory; The rock of my strength, and my refuge (machseh), is in God. (inserts mine)
It is no secret that we are living a chaotic times. Everything that can be shaken appears to be being shaken.
Hebrews 12:25-29 (NKJV), says, “See that you do not refuse Him who speaks. For if they did not escape who refused Him who spoke on earth, much more shall we not escape if we turn away from Him who speaks from heaven, whose voice then shook the earth; but now He has promised, saying, “Yet once more I shake not only the earth, but also heaven.” Now this, “Yet once more,” indicates the removal of those things that are being shaken, as of things that are made, that the things which cannot be shaken may remain. Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. For our God is a consuming fire.”
If you have read my last post, the ‘A.R.R..O.W. of God’, I would like to expand upon the last two verses of Psalm 64. Psalm 64: 9,10 (NKJV) says, “All men shall fear, And shall declare the work of God; For they shall wisely consider His doing. The righteous shall be glad in the Lord, and trust in Him. And all the upright shall glory .”
This is the reaction of mankind to God’s intervention in this nation, and the nations of the world.
I want to share with you what I believe the Lord shared with me regarding the implications of His intervention as I was reflecting upon Psalm 64 in light of the most current affairs of our nation (August 9, 2022).
This is what I wrote to the Lord: Thank you Father for your arrow–and its effect on those who have spewed out evil, planned evil and have carried it out. Thank you Father for Your impact, revelation, and exposure. Your ARROW will wound, be the enemies downfall, so great will be Your intervention that people will be astounded, separate themselves from the evil ones, and declare, this is the work of God, many will fear and flee away, and ponder what God has done. Life will come to a standstill; people will be in shock, people will be numb, unable to function, their lives will come to a halt not knowing what to do. Father, how is Your Church to respond? How am I, are we, to respond? What words are appropriate? We will not gloat. Psalm 64 says, we are to take refuge in You and give You the glory.
For the past several days, I have been pondering ‘God’s E.R. Room’. These thoughts have come as a result of my daily devotions. Here is a paraphrased thought summing up what I have been reading. In our society today, we can speak ‘our’ truth without any consideration as to what the truth is. Or, put your mind around this, “if reality is not absolute, then there is no such thing as truth. If there is no such thing as truth, then there is literally nothing to discuss.” (gotquestions.org, ‘What is absolute reality?)
As my wife has been lamenting lately, “stop the world, I want to get off” How many of you feel that way?
I am so glad our Heavenly Father has an ‘E.R. Room’. Have you ever been to the ER? Why did you go there? Because something was wrong, or perceived as not being right. You wanted someone to look at it, diagnose it, and put you on a pathway to healing. I will let you fill in the personal information.
Let me share what I have been thinking about regarding ‘God’s E.R. Room’. Psalms 64:9-10, (NKJV), says,
“All men shall fear, and shall declare the work of God; For they shall wisely consider his doing. The righteous shall be glad in the Lord, and trust in Him. And all the upright in heart shall glory.
Remember the context: God, Himself, has intervened into the affairs of humanity. He has made Himself known in a powerful way, and mankind is in fear. They know that what they are experiencing is the hand of God.
Humanity needs a place of safety. Where is your place of safety?
What is God’s E.R. Room? It’s a place we go to enter His Refuge. In His E.R., we Encounter His Presence, we embrace His Rest, we experience His Reality, we find His endless Mercy, we are empowered by His Grace, we are encompassed by His Peace, and we are engaged by His Encouragement.
In God’s E.R. Room, we can express (confess) our sin, experience His Forgiveness, eliminate our stress, experience His quietness, elude our tribulation (trials), embrace His Solitude , escape our persecutions (persecutors), and experience His Protection.
As we embrace His Care, we express our praise, we elaborate our gratitude, and we exercise thanksgiving, all to Him.
His E.R. Room is our place of Refuge. In our Father’s Refuge, we enjoy giving Him the Glory due His Name, and experiencing the healing that comes trusting Him.
There is a place of quiet Refuge, it is ‘God’s E.R. Room’.
He is Emmanuel, God with us, He is our Refuge.
God’s E.R. Room is Emmanuel’s Refuge.
Resting In Emmanuel’s Refuge, a brother in Christ, deo
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Living Words of Encouragement 