Hebrews 4:12-13 ESV
Proverbs 30:5 ESV
Proverbs 30:1 (Author of this chapter)
Proverbs 30:4-5 (Azul compares himself to God)
Psalm 46:1 ESV
Romans 8:37-39 ESV
Since childhood I’ve believed the Holy Bible is the Word of God and it can be trusted. I knew that the Bible was Holy…set apart from other books.
I knew it because my dad told me I could trust the Word of God.
I knew it because Hebrews 4:12-13 tells us, “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.”
However, after I turned 12 years old everything changed for me when I went to hear Billy Graham speak at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri.
When I entered the stadium that night, the course of my life changed forever. Even though I didn’t know exactly what it meant at the time, the Spirit of the Living God swept through my soul. I was so overtaken by God’s Spirit that night that I wept and shook the entire time I was in the stadium.
As an adult I have served on prayer teams with various churches when Billy Graham was scheduled to speak in the Midwest, especially in Kansas City. I moved out of the Kansas City Metro area in 1983 when we took a ministry position near St. Joseph, Missouri, but I still prayed when I knew Billy Graham was going to be speaking in the Midwest.
I saw evidence that night that when believers gather their hearts and minds together to call on the name of God, the Spirit is moved. Even though I didn’t know it at the time, those prayer teams were instrumental in calling upon the name of God to urge His Spirit to move in mighty ways.
That’s what happened that night when I walked into the stadium.
I experienced the power of God that night for the first (but not the last) time.
I witnessed the truth that was written in scripture thousands of years ago.
The Word of God tells us that God moves in powerful ways when we turn Him.
Proverbs 30:5 says, “Every word of God proves true; He is a shield to those who take refuge in him.”
We know from Proverbs 30:1 that section of the Proverbs was written by Azul, son of Jakeh. He describes himself as a weary man, who is too stupid to be a man. In Proverbs 30:4-5 he compares himself to God and we get the sense that’s why he sees himself as stupid.
He has heard God speak and he is humbled.
The Spirit of God touched Azul and spoke to him. Azul KNEW the voice of God.
He knew the Word of God spoken to him personally and brought by the Spirit of God had been proven to be true in his life.
And he was humbled.
Azul knew God was his shield. He did not have any doubt about being able to trust God who was his refuge.
Psalm 46:1 declares the same message, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.”
In the ESV, the title for Psalms 46 tells us it was written by the Sons of Korah who were Levites of the family of Kohath. These Levites humbly proclaimed protection from Yahweh God as being their refuge whenever they are in trouble.
God is refuge.
God is our refuge.
Scripture tells us over and over again when we are in need we can turn to God. We can rely on God to protect us.
I believe when I walked into Arrowhead Stadium that night God made His power and capability apparent. From that moment on I knew there was none but God. Nothing else on earth or in heaven was more powerful.
As the Apostle Paul wrote to the believers in Rome, “in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:37-39).
God is our refuge. God shields us from everything…absolutely ANYTHING that tries to separate us from Him and His love.
When you turn to God, nothing on earth or heaven can separate you from God.
It’s a truth you can count on.
Today’s Spiritual Practice is: Turn
Sit with God and turn (give) yourself to God. Rest in God as your refuge and shield. Rely on it.
In God, Deborah
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