Jesus is your Rest, your Rock, and your Refuge
By Jack Graham
I don’t know about you, but I’ve never felt darkness pervading our world like I have in the past few years. At times it can feel hopeless, can’t it?
In 1861, in the midst of the gruesome American Civil War, Julia Ward Howe felt the darkness closing in and wrote the great “The Battle Hymn of the Republic.” I love the lyric she penned:
Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord. / He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored. / He has loosed the fateful lightning of His terrible swift sword, / His truth is marching on. / Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! / Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! / Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! / His truth is marching on.
Howe wrote this song to encourage the Union troops. She sensed they needed to be encouraged… to be reminded that when all hope seems lost… their victory through Christ was certain. I’m betting you might need that same encouragement today!
No matter what may come, no matter what battles you’re fighting… your temptations, your tests, and your trials… your victory is certain. It doesn’t depend on you, but on the One who perseveres in you. He will get you through every battle. He will sustain you in the storm. And when the smoke clears, you will still be standing.
Consider King David’s words in Psalm 62:5-8…
Yes, my soul, find rest in God; my hope comes from him. Truly he is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will not be shaken. My salvation and my honor depend on God; he is my mighty rock, my refuge. Trust in him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge. (NIV)
Let me ask you today: In whom or in what do you tend to take refuge other than the Lord?
Perhaps you’re a bit self-dependent and think God expects you to “pull yourself up by the bootstraps” when hard times come. Maybe you struggle with thinking real identity and security are found in a bigger savings account, a bigger house, or a bigger car.
Whatever you take refuge in, other than God, will fail you. Nothing but the Lord Jesus Christ will sustain you in the heat of life’s battles.
Jesus makes all things new and gives us a new heart and a new song. In Psalm 40, the psalmist spoke of being down in the pit and broken, but the Lord lifted him up and put a new song in his heart. Here on this earth, we have a song to sing no matter what we face.
So today…as our world grows darker and darker…look to Jesus. He is your Rest…your Rock…and your Refuge that will sustain you until the end.
