The Eternal Perspecitve

Psalm 16

Keep me safe, my God, for in you I take refuge. I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing.” I say of the holy people who are in the land, “They are the noble ones in whom is all my delight.” Those who run after other gods will suffer more and more. I will not pour out libations of blood to such gods or take up their names on my lips. Lord, you alone are my portion and my cup; you make my lot secure. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance. I will praise the Lord, who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me. I keep my eyes always on the Lord. With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure, because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead, nor will you let your faithful one see decay. You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.

This week has been one of those weeks. You know, the type of week where you are beyond exhausted and nothing seems to make sense. The type of week where nothing seems right and everything goes wrong. This week seemed to be the type of week, in which you search deep inside for every ounce of strength just to make it through the week. Okay, maybe I am being a bit dramatic, but it has been a tough week. But I am so thankful to serve a God that cares - even in the tough times, He cares.

I love the last portion of this verse, "LORD, you alone are my portion and my cup; you make my lot secure." There is nothing more desirable than the Lord. Once you taste the sweetness of the savior, nothing satisfies you more than Him.

Psalm 34:8

Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.

What is most excellent about our God is He wants us to take refuge in Him. Regardless of your situation, whether good or bad, the Lord wants you to take refuge in Him. He is our protector, our shield, our very present help in trouble. If God is our refuge, then why does life hurt so much? Why is there so much pain, agony, stress and anxiety? Because we are not taking refuge in God. Yesterday, as I was walking to the parking garage, it began pouring down rain. I was in the middle of the block without shelter and without an umbrella. As I scrambled to find shelter, the rain seemed to pour harder. I couldn't see where I was going, and my clothes seemed to get heavier, as the water saturated them. I ducked into a parking garage, not my destination, but shelter nonetheless. As I cleared the water from my eyes, I noticed others who were huddled together under the shelter from the rain. You see, we have a choice - when situations come at us, it is like the rain that is pounding on us. We can choose to go into shelter, or we can choose to remain in the rain.

So, how do we take refuge in God? These words in this Psalm echoes in my heart:

The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance. I will praise the Lord, who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me. I keep my eyes always on the Lord. With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken.

God shows us how to take refuge in Him, its right here in the scriptures. God has laid out the boundary lines for us, He directs our paths - even at night he instructs our hearts. If only we keep our eyes on the Lord, we will not be shaken. He will lead us, he will guide us. As long as we keep our eyes on Him, everything else seems so small. It's the eternal perspective. As long as we look at our current problems, they look massive. Our problems seem to be massive, they seem to have no ending, and it seems like there is no way out. If we relinquish our control to God and take refuge in Him, then He grants us that eternal perspective. A perspective that makes us realize, it's not all about us. An eternal perspective makes us realize that there are others hurting, maybe hurting more than us, and need us to minister to them. We are called to the great commission, to lead others to the Lord, but how can we do that, when we are broken and hurting? Allow God to minister to your brokenness, allow yourself to take refuge in the one true living God. Take the time to allow God to minister to you, healing any brokenness that may be in you, even deep down. Maybe it's calloused over through the years. God is everything we'll ever need.