"I'll show you how you'll find a sanctuary..."
The importance of God as an incomparably fortified sanctuary in times of trouble.
“The Lord is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in him...” (Nahum 1:7)
“God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.” (Psalm 46:1-3)
“...my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation. He is my stronghold, my refuge and my savior...” (2 Samuel 22:3)
When our daily lives, or the general course of our life, isn’t going our way; when we’re experiencing difficulties, trials, or even the often harsh sting of God’s own discipline; when the relentless onslaught of the troubles of the world all around us—especially in the state of violent and deadly chaos, uncertainty and injustice like under the spiritually lawless, morally bankrupt and criminally corrupt forces in authority over most of the Western world today—it’s only in the Lord we find the only solace and comfort powerful enough to give our spirits the sanctuary and protection they need.
God’s promise in this regard is that no matter how terrible things may get, it’s the Lord who both is and provides the firewall behind which he keeps us safe from the ravages of all our troubles; and all the pain and suffering they may cause us; and all the darkness with which they may surround us and in which they may threaten to choke and crush our spirits.
Jeremiah 17:12:
“A glorious throne, exalted from the beginning, is the place of our sanctuary.”
In this sense, “sanctuary” isn’t just “holy place,” but also “safe haven,” and; “throne” isn’t just referring to a place—the dwelling place of God and the seat of his presence and power—but to God himself as the source from which all spiritual and material power emanates.
Power that sustains all of Creation.
Power like there is no other in all of Creation.
Isaiah 46:9 tells us:
“I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me.”
Psalm 86:8 affirms:
“Among the gods there is none like you, Lord; no deeds can compare with yours.”
It’s that same power that provides protection and relief to those who love and trust God.
God is the ultimate power in existence.
God is also the ultimate expression of all holiness and righteousness, the power of which is also incomparable with anything or anybody, man or spirit, on earth or in heaven.
That’s what makes the Lord and the indomitable power of God’s own holiness and righteousness—and the indomitable power of his love, compassion, mercy and grace—the only place and the only power potent enough to provide our spirits with the peace, comfort, solace and protection they need to keep us safe from the dangers of the darkness surrounding us in the world (and threatening to choke both the spiritual as well as literal life out of us); while keeping us faithfully and obediently doing God’s will for his glory and for the blessing and benefit of our neighbors.
When we find ourselves faced with difficulties with our loved ones, friends or neighbors; or difficulties with our lives; or suffering from the anxieties associated with turbulent, tumultuous, violent, dangerous and uncertain times like those in which we find ourselves today...
Turning to sources within the world as a solution to our our problems, as a sanctuary from them and as a solace against them, is like hiding under a roaring waterfall to get out of the rain.
Diving into worldly pleasures to escape our problems doesn’t solve our problems, it just temporarily distracts us from them.
Once we’ve sobered up; once we’ve digested the feast; once the fog lifts from all the drugs; once we’ve slept off all the sex in which we try to lose ourselves... we’re just more haggard and exhausted, and all our troubles are still there, waiting to resume tormenting us, now also reinforced by all the new problems we caused with all our drunken, gluttonous, stoned, lustful sinfulness.
And because the world is the world (“For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world.” 1 John 2:16), when we turn to it, to the world, for the solution to our problems while it’s also the source of all of them, it’s like calling an arsonist to come help us put out a fire.
God’s ultimate power is the only effective sanctuary.
The only place and the only one guaranteed to protect us from our troubles overwhelming us, able to comfort us from the pain and suffering they cause us—and get us out of them—is the omniscient, omnipotent, loving, compassionate, caring God full of incomparable and indomitable grace and mercy.
Psalm 91:1-2:
“Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, ‘He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.’”
Psalm 112:6-8:
“Surely the righteous will never be shaken; they will be remembered forever. They will have no fear of bad news; their hearts are steadfast, trusting in the Lord. Their hearts are secure, they will have no fear...”
Whether it’s the threat of a criminally corrupt regime bringing the hammer down on all our heads; the fallout from a spiritual attack on us by a loved one, friend or neighbor; whether we’re lost, afraid, confused, abused, alone, or about to lose our jobs, our homes, our spouses or our children, the omnipotent force of God’s love—powered by the limitless abundance of his heavenly treasures—is the sanctuary in which we find the comfort we need to keep our troubles from harming us; the protection we need to keep the pain and suffering they impose on us from crushing our spirits or making us respond to them in sinful ways, and; the strength we need to keep forging ahead in faithfulness and obedience to God’s will.
Psalm 119:114, 116-117:
“You are my refuge and my shield; I have put my hope in your word... Sustain me, my God, according to your promise, and I will live; do not let my hopes be dashed. Uphold me, and I will be delivered...”
Psalm 32:7:
“You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance...”
Psalm 23:4:
“Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.”
Isaiah 43:2:
“When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze...”
The power of that promise is underwritten by the truthfulness of God’s word and the consistently irreproachable faithfulness of his own incomparable and pure holiness and righteousness.
It’s also sealed with the guarantee provided by the power of the faithful prayer from his only-begotten Son, the Lord Yeshua himself.
When praying to God the Father on the eve of his impending arrest and crucifixion, believing he already has what he’s praying for (Mark 11:24), the Lord Yeshua asks this of God the Father on our behalf, in John 17:15:
“My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.”
The truth and reliability of that promise to us is reinforced by the apostle Paul in 2 Thessalonians 3:3:
“...the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen you and protect you from the evil one.”
So not only can we rely on God as the sanctuary with the power to comfort and protect us from all the ravages of all our troubles, but we can rely on that sanctuary being reliable and effective.
And persistent.
It’s there for as long as there’s a world, and for each of God’s obedient faithful in every moment of their earthly existence.
We can be sure that protection and that comfort will always be there for us because like we already noted in Psalm 46, God’s help is “ever-present;” and because of God’s faithfulness, his keeping of his word and his promises to us has no statute of limitations, no territorial boundaries in the Church Age, no expiry date.
Deuteronomy 7:9:
“Know therefore that the Lord your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments.”
And Lamentations 3:22 tells us it’s because of that persistent and consistent protection and comfort that we’re not overcome by our troubles and we don’t risk being destroyed by them:
“Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail.”
Once again, all the reliable clout of which is provided by the pronouncement of the Lord Jesus himself, in John 10:28-29:
“I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand.”
Which is why we completely confidently can, as God’s prophet counsels us in Isaiah 26:4:
“Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord himself, is the Rock eternal.”
“Deliver me from my enemies, O God; be my fortress against those who are attacking me.” (Psalm 59:1)
In addition to being an indomitable, effective, universal and eternal safe haven, the power and protection of God is also a fortress that’s appropriately need-focused and well-armed.
We have to remember that while we may be in the physical world, the enemy we face is a spiritual one, and he attacks us with the invisible weapons of the flesh as well (which includes the heart and the mind in addition to the body), along with his spiritual weapons.
Ephesians 6:12:
“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”
So the sanctuary we find from all that, the protection we need from all that, can only come from the only spiritual power capable of protecting us from all that:
God.
However, God is the spiritual sanctuary who’s also a fortress, fortified by a limitlessly powerful arsenal of weaponry, available to protect us from the attacks of the enemy and his followers on earth who do his will against us.
An arsenal full of weaponry against which nothing and nobody, neither on earth nor in heaven, neither man, nor spirit, can stand.
2 Chronicles 2:20:
“Are you not the God who is in heaven? You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. Power and might are in your hand, and no one can withstand you.”
After what Paul tells us about the true nature of our struggle in Ephesians 6:12, he then goes on in verses :13-18 to enumerate the weapons we have available to us in God’s fortress with which to arm ourselves for protection against the attacks of the enemy:
the belt of truth (that arms us against Satan’s lies);
the breastplate of righteousness (that protects us from the harm of sin);
feet clad in the gospel of peace (that keep us in a peaceful countenance with God and with the world);
the shield of faith (that guards us against fear, doubt and uncertainty);
the helmet of salvation (that guards our thoughts from evil influence);
the sword of the spirit (that discerns all truth and dissects all lies like a spiritual sushi chef);
and finally, the power of prayer.
Let’s also not forget that while the main focus of God’s protection for us is spiritual—because it’s our spirits that are going into everlasting life with him and need the protection—he also doesn’t withhold that protection in the physical sense, as well, if it’s in his will and according to his purposes to do so.
The Lord Yeshua teaches us to be prepared as his believers to suffer violence and even death at the hands of our enemies because of his holy name. He urges us not to be afraid of physical harm or even losing our physical lives in promotion or defense of his truth, if that’s what God’s will says we have to face.
Matthew 16:24-25:
“Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it.”
However, he also tells us if it’s in God’s will, he’ll protect us in the world, as well, from all physical threat.
Luke 21:16-19:
“You will be betrayed even by parents, brothers and sisters, relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death. Everyone will hate you because of me. But not a hair of your head will perish. Stand firm, and you will win life.”
So even if we’re about to get shot right between the eyes by a criminally corrupt government’s assassin, and it looks like nothing can stop it from happening, a simple whispered impulse from the Lord to turn our heads to the right, is all he needs to save us from something like that, too.
“Check out the God Sanctuary’s fully-loaded list of features!”
No matter what threat we face—spiritual or physical, mental or emotional—God’s sanctuary comes fully-loaded with every conceivable gift and blessing of his Holy Spirit to comfort and protect us, so we can confidently continue faithfully and obediently worshiping him, doing his will and serving our neighbor in love as we’re commanded to do (Mark 12:31).
Against Satan-instigated doubt, God arms us with assurance:
“Truly I tell you, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and it will be done. If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.” (Matthew 21:21-22)
Against worries associated with want, he arms us with abundance through his providence:
“So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” (Matthew 6:31-33)
Against fear, he arms us with power, to give courage and confidence:
“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you...” (Acts 1:8)
“...for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.” (2 Timothy 1:7 ESV)
“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” (Isaiah 41:10)
Against temptation, he arms us with spiritual resolve:
“No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.” (1 Corinthians 10:13)
“Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.” (Colossians 3:2)
Against distraction, he arms us with not just focus, but focus on the right things:
“As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, ‘Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!’ ‘Martha, Martha,’ the Lord answered, ‘you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.’” (Luke 10:38-42)
One of Satan’s most powerful weapons is confusion. God arms us against that with clarity:
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.” (Proverbs 3:5-6)
“I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you.” (Psalm 32:8)
“I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever—the Spirit of truth.” (John 14:16-17)
“...when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth.” (John 16:13)
Against weakness, he arms us with strength:
“He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.” (Isaiah 40:29)
And against all the anxiety that all of the above can cause us, the Lord arms us with the kind of peace that has the kind of power that only he—and not the world, anything or anybody in it—can give:
“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” (John 14:27)
“You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you.” (Isaiah 26:3)
The Only Real ‘Safe and Effective’ Guarantee
So when we face troubles in our lives, and/or incontinent fears on top of troubles because of the insane way in which the world all around us is falling apart, there’s no sanctuary in the world capable of keeping us safe from the ravages of the very same world ravaging us under its own steam, or under the direction of Satan, his demons, and the unclean spirits they command and the followers in the world who do his dark will.
The only sanctuary powerful enough not only to keep us safe from all that, but to also give us the weapons with which we can pro-actively fight against all that, is God, his holy living and written word, his Holy Spirit, and the faith and trust he gives us that was made possible by the life, teachings, finished work, sacrifice, spilled blood, resurrection and ascension into heaven and everlasting life, of the Lord Jesus, Yeshua the Messiah.
If it didn’t work, if God’s sanctuary weren’t only real, but powerful enough to protect us from all Satan has to throw at us, Satan wouldn’t be fighting so hard—even if ultimately, so futilely—against it and to try to fool us into abandoning our reliance on it.
But thanks to God’s immeasurable love and limitless grace, we have access to his security from all that—through the blessing he gives us—of our faith in him.
(Photo Credits: Vinuk Cool; DadOrAlive.com; WestParkBaptist.com)
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