Sometimes I feel like my life is an ocean, and I’m barely keeping my nose above water. Below the surface, my arms and legs are paddling frantically, but my strength is almost gone. I know it’s just a matter of time before I sink.
For some reason, I think I’ve got to handle everything on my own and do it all perfectly. Where is that crazy idea coming from? Do you ever feel that way?
It’s true that there are real pressures bearing down on us every day. Work and school often demand more than we have to give. Friends and family have never-ending expectations of us, and don’t even get me started on the demands we girls place on ourselves.
You know what’s really sad? I used to think that God was the One putting the most pressure on me. Didn’t He expect me to be holy, after all? I might be able to swing an A in English but be holy? Perfect? Sinless? There was no way I was going to manage that one.
Oh, how we have such mixed-up thoughts about God.
How do you see God? Do you see Him as your drill sergeant or your refuge?
Why don’t we take a look at what God has to say about Himself?
The Bible says God is:
Our Refuge and Fortress: “He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the LORD, ‘My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust'” (Ps. 91:1–2).
Our Helper: “I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth” (Ps. 121:1–2.)
Our understanding Father: “As a father shows compassion to his children, so the LORD shows compassion to those who fear him. For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust” (Ps. 103:13–14).
Do you almost see the tenderness dripping off of these words?
There’s no doubt that we are called to be growing in holiness—to be holy as He is holy, but God has taken care of that for us, too! He knows we can’t save ourselves, so that’s why He provided a Mediator for us. That’s the good news of the gospel! God is SO for us!
Take a look for yourself:
If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? … Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? … 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 (Rom. 8:31–39).
My pastor says, “Let’s hurl ourselves at Jesus!” I love that. Because of Jesus, God is no longer our enemy; He’s our Refuge, our Fortress, our Helper, our Savior.
What are we waiting for?
Written by Jennifer Case Cortez
