“You are my refuge and my shield; your word is my source of hope”
(Psalm 119:114, NLT).
“Lord, when the struggles of this life overwhelm you are my
sanctuary. When I am strong enough to stand, you are my shield that protects.
Your Word is my only source of hope in this world. When the world speaks defeat,
you speak victory. When the world speaks death, you speak life. When the world
turns its back, you are constant and unchanging. When the world accepts the
latest belief, your Word is solid and pure. It inspires all the hope I need to
reach for you. I can't place hope in a word that changes because then my hope
would have no meaning. But your Word is rock-solid and unchanging. What it
promises it promises. I can believe in what you impart to my spirit through your
abiding Word. I can believe in your faithfulness above all the world's
fickleness. Your Word is truth above all else.”
“In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with
God, and the Word was God. He existed in the beginning with God” (John 1:1-2,
NLT). The Word existed in the very beginning of this world! Not only did it
exist, it was the very heart and being of the Creator. The New Living
Translation speaks of the Word as “he”. The Word was God in the beginning. The
Word is God now. If I want to know God, I will know His Word. If I want to know
His hope, I will make His Word my most intimate resource.
“Not only so, but we also glory in
our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance;
perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame,
because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit,
who has been given to us” (Roman 5:3-4, NIV). How do I glory (rejoice) in that
which is my refuge and shield? I rejoice when I grow in perseverance and
character and hope. I rejoice when God's Word inspires me to discover His
promise for my life. Hope does not disappoint–it does not discourage–it does not shame when it is placed in God's Word. His love has been poured into
my heart through the gift of the Holy Spirit, and that love anchors me to
believe in that which a fickle world cannot believe–His Word.
Do you
believe?
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