When I was a child and forced to trek endless miles through Walmart with my mother, I would occasionally slip over to the pharmacy for some light entertainment. Tucked away in the corner was a blood pressure cuff that I found most intriguing. I would slip my tiny arm through the opening, push the button, then wait with anticipation as the cuff would begin to squeeze. My fingers would go numb, then the pressure would release. I’d look at the meaningless numbers that appeared and begin the whole process again.
Life carries a natural sense of pressure. It comes from all sides, and at times it may seem that our entire being is trapped in one of those blood pressure cuffs with no escape. The struggles we face are sometimes long and insistent. We pray, we seek, and we knock, but nothing seems to move. The shield of faith is held high, and the sword of the spirit is wielding, but the fiery darts are still flying, and the persistent, heavy blows are still falling. In those times, it’s easy to grow weary in well-doing.
The psalmist felt the pressure and exclaimed, “From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: Lead me to the rock that is higher than I” (Psalm 61:2 KJV). He knew that in the heat of battle, in the midst of unyielding struggle, there was a safe place to hide, a place of refuge, a place of solace.
While David was a man well-acquainted with war and had slain his 10,000s, he showed his heart in Psalm 32:7, “Thou art my hiding place; thou shalt preserve me from trouble; Thou shalt compass me about with songs of deliverance.”
When we enter the presence of the Lord, we are sheltered, hidden, and secure. Moses, in Psalm 91:1-2, reminds us that, “He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: My God; in him will I trust.”
As the Christian feels the pressure of insurmountable odds and the tension of the indisputable statistics, the Lord reminds us that we should bring it to Him. His yoke is easy, and His burden is light (see Matthew 11:28-30).
When we feel the enemy coming in like a flood, and when there seems to be no relief from the pressure that threatens to suffocate, there is a secret place. There is a refuge.
When we feel the enemy coming in like a flood, and when there seems to be no relief from the pressure that threatens to suffocate, there is a secret place. There is a refuge.
Breana Henry
Isaiah’s words resonate with this promise. “For You have been a strength to the poor, A strength to the needy in his distress, A refuge from the storm, A shade from the heat…” Isaiah 25:4 (NKJV).
Time and again, the word of God describes our Lord as a rock, a shelter, a fortress, a shield, a refuge. Even a mighty rock where we can hide when the road we are running down is pelted with rain and blistering wind (see Psalm 94:22, Psalm 31:20-21).
Psalms 73:28 (NLT) says, “But as for me, how good it is to be near God! I have made the Sovereign Lord my shelter….”
As he stood under an overhanging rock shielded while a fierce storm raged, Augustus Toplady penned the immortal words, “Rock of ages cleft for me, let me hide myself in Thee.” What a blessed thing to be able to hide in the presence of the Lord. Even if just for a moment, to be sheltered from the storms of life. What sweet relief can be found in Him!
His presence is our hiding place, our safe haven, and a shelter from the constant pressure. David cried in Psalm 57:1 “…my soul trusteth in thee: Yea, in the shadow of thy wings will I make my refuge, until these calamities be overpast.”
He knew there was nowhere else to go. The safest place this man who was running for his life could find was in the presence of the Almighty. God delivered him from his enemies, but he had also sheltered him, sustained him, and kept him in the heat of the battle. God was his high tower where he could find rest and be refreshed.
The safest place this man who was running for his life could find was in the presence of the Almighty.
Breana Henry
When our hearts are overwhelmed, when life is unbearable, when the weight is piling up, and the battle is too much, we have a place of shelter. We can look to our Rock and hide ourselves in His presence. He is the release of the cuff that squeezes until we’re numb. The pressure may begin again, but there is a place to find relief.
“…my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; My God, my strength, in whom I will trust; My buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower.” Psalm 18:2 (KJV).
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