God- My Shelter

Joel 3:16New King James Version (NKJV)

The Lord also will roar from Zion,
And utter His voice from Jerusalem;
The heavens and earth will shake;
But the Lord will be a shelter for His people,
And the strength of the children of Israel.

God shelters us from the storms of life.  He covers us and protects us and it feels so good not to be alone. 

Truth always trumps our feelings.  Here is another truth:

He shall cover you with His feathers,  And under His wings you shall take refuge;  His truth shall be your shield and buckler.  (Psalms 91:4)

When our feelings try to overtake us, we can say:  “Here’s what I know for sure……..”

Fear…..Hebrews 13:5b Amplified Bible 

Brokenness……I Thessalonians 5:23 The Message

Hopelessness…..Luke 18:27 

Needs……Philippians 4:19

Worry….I Peter 5:7

……and the list goes on and on!!

GPS  (God’s Directions)

• Psalms 91:2  Refuge

• Ephesians 6:16   Shield

• Psalms 27:5   Secret Place 

Prayer Focus:

Begin to praise God for those things that you “know for sure.”  

  God-  My Strength

Psalm 43:2  Amplified Bible (AMP)

For You are the God of my strength [my Stronghold—in Whom I take refuge];

When I read this verse, I think of crawling up into my “Heavenly Daddy’s” lap when I feel weak and vulnerable.  I am so thankful that I am not in this life alone and I can run to this place of refuge and find my strength in Him.

Psalms 18:2 in the Amplified Bible has lots of Greek words that make this even clearer.  Here they are:  

My Rock
My Fortress
My Deliverer  
My God
My Strength
My Shield
My Horn  (Strength and Light)
My High Tower

These are some very descriptive words that describe the immensity of our wonderful God.

Sometimes life throws us a curve ball.  At that point we have a choice—worry or run into “Daddy’s” arms.  It’s in His arms that we get truth and direction.  It’s in His arms that we gain strength to stand up and tackle the situation before us.  

God and us together are strong against the forces that are coming against us.  Worry weakens you even more, so we can’t afford to go there.  The outcome would not be good!

GPS  (God’s Directions)

• 2 Kings 6:16

• Isaiah 30: 15b  NLT

• Exodus 15:2

Prayer Focus:

Spend some time thanking God out loud, using the list above.  Thank You, God, that You are my Rock, my Fortress…”

   God— My Deliverer

Psalm 34:4 (NKJV)

I sought the Lord, and He heard me, And delivered me from all my fears.

Does God really hear my prayers?  The Bible says that He does, and I know from personal experience that He does.  I didn’t always know that.  At first, I thought He was too big to hear my little prayers, but now I know that He cares about everything that I have concerns about and He has all the answers.

There are so many possible “fears” out there these days.  Fear of financial failure…fear of disease…..fear for your children….and the list goes on and on.  When fear comes in the day or in the night, God has the promise that delivers us from that thought.  Here’s what we can say the minute the fearful thought comes:  

“What are we going to do about this, God?” 

 He is the One who has the solution to every situation that we feel trapped in.  By the way, one of the meanings for deliver is “release.”  Do you want to be released from all fear?  Call on your Deliverer.

GPS  (God’s Directions)

• I John 5: 14-15     God hears
• Psalms 91: 15       Rescue
• 2 Samuel 22:2      My Deliver

Prayer Focus:

Make a list of those things that you are worrying about—those things that are too big for you—and say, “What are we going to do about this, God?”

God— My Redeemer

Isaiah 59:20   New Living Translation 

“The Redeemer will come to Jerusalem to buy back those in Israel who have turned from their sins,”  says the Lord.

Redeem means to buy back—-regain possession of something lost.  Here are some other words that describe redeem:  free, liberate, rescue, save.

Jesus Christ went to the cross to save our lives from destruction, sorrow, pain, loss, oppression…..and the list goes on.  That’s why we call Him our Redeemer.  It’s always been His plan that we should live “the good life.”  He released all the blessings of heaven upon us, through His sacrificial blood.

You might say, I am not living “the good life” and I don’t see those “blessings” —in fact, quite the contrary.

That’s because we have an enemy whose full time job is to “kill, steal and destroy.”   And might I add—lie!!  He is always trying to keep us from all that God has for us because He wants to “destroy” our relationship with God.

We need to “work smarter” by reading God’s promises in His word and take them for ourselves.  When he lies to me, I just say, “Too late!  God already promised me ____________________ and it’s a done deal!”  

GPS  (God’s Directions)

Ephesians 2:10  Amplified Bible    (“the good life”)

Ephesians 3:20  Amplified Bible  (the blessings)

John 10:10   (the enemy’s full time job)

Prayer Focus:

Spend time thanking God for all that He has provided for you.