WHERE IS YOUR REFUGE IN THE MIDST OF CALAMITIES?

SCRIPTURE:
When calamity comes, the wicked are brought down, 
but even in death the righteous have a refuge.  
(Proverbs 14:32)
    
MEDITATION:
In previous generations, calamities were things that happened occasionally,
however in our world today, it seems as if calamities happen every day.
Just when we think we have seen it all, 
something happens that shows us we have not seen it all.

People react in many different ways whenever calamities occur.
Pessimistic people tend to think that everything is going to get worse 
and there is no hope for improvement.
Optimistic people tend to start looking for resolutions to what has happened.
Everyone else falls somewhere between the two.

So, how should we feel whenever bad things happen?
It depends on what is going on in our lives.
If we are in the group identified as the wicked, 
then more than likely it will have a negative impact on us.

However if we are considered in the righteous group, 
we will always have a refuge in our Lord.
He is the One we go to when everything seems to be crumbling around us.
How comforting to know that He is always near us 
and wraps us up in His arms no matter what is going on around us.
He is the One we go to when our own death is the calamity we face.
However, those who do not know the Lord will be ‘brought down’ in death.

We don’t like to talk about death; 
it’s the forbidden subject of our generation. 
Yet it is inevitable for all of us. 
Death is real, and when we die, that is a reality we have to face all alone.
 
Nobody can be with us in that hour, but David said 
he had found an answer that would take the fear of death away. 
He said there is an answer to death; there is a hope beyond death. 
Paul wrote that to be “absent from the body” is to be “present with the Lord”. 
That is the promise to all believers: The Lord is the hope for every situation, 
every calamity, and every reality including death.

ACTION:
How do you react to calamities?
Do they cause you to worry and devastate you, or do they remind you 
of the hope that is there for you – your refuge in the Lord Jesus Christ?
Maybe it is time to either establish your relationship 
with the One who cares about you more than anyone else, 
or possibly to renew your relationship with Him.

Pray,
“Heavenly Father, thank You for all of the many promises You have 
given me. When things are going bad, You are there. When things are 
going great, You are there. Thank You for always being there for me. 
Thank You for waiting to greet me on the other side of death’s journey. 
Forgive me if I have not given You adequate attention and included You 
enough in my life. Help me to reestablish my relationship with You and 
to grow ever closer to You. Teach me to enjoy Your presence in my life 
more every day. Lord Jesus, with complete trust I look toward that day 
when my soul will be with You for eternity.”