“It is better to take refuge in the Lord, than to trust in man.” Psalm 118:8
Such a pivotal verse for life, so much so, that God made it the very center point of the entire Bible!
I love facts about the Bible, reminds me that God is seriously amazing, and He’s such a God of order.
Did you know…
– The middle chapter of the whole Bible is Psalm 118 and the very middle point is Psa.118:8.
– The chapter before that, Psalm 117, is the shortest of the Bible.
– The chapter after, Psalm 119, is the longest of the Bible.
– All of the chapters of the Bible added up together equal 1188.
So why this verse at the heart of it all? It seems that God could have made a lot of other verses the middle point of His whole love letter to us, maybe a verse on love? Or a verse on joy? Or peace? Or giving? Why do you think He choose this one? Obviously He knew it would be talked about through generations, written about through the ages, preached about in sermons, shared about on Facebook, etc…
And maybe that’s what He wanted…
Maybe He knew how much we would strive to do things “on our own,” how much we would yearn for “independence” in this life. Maybe He knew how tempted we would be to reach out for help from everyone and everything else around us, before reaching out for help from Him. Maybe He knew that people would fail us, that no matter how good their intentions may often be, that noone would ever be perfect…like He is. Maybe He knew that some things we would endure in this life could only be fully comforted and protected by His arms.
The word refuge by definition means, “a place of shelter, protection, or safety.” It’s also referred to as, “security, retreat, haven, sanctuary, or stronghold.” Quite simply, it’s the place to RUN TO! It is the place to go when you need safety, the place to hide, the place of rest, the place of shelter.
Just maybe, this very verse, when lived out, encompasses much more than we could imagine. Mabye it’s a key to finding love, contentment, joy, peace, and all of the abundance that comes from walking closely with God. Maybe this is His very heart for us. Maybe when we learn to find refuge and security in Him alone, we’re able to keep centered on what is most important in this life.
Choose today to make Psalm 118:8 the CENTER of your life! Run to Him. Rest.
He is our security, our safe place, our refuge…He never fails.
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