refuge anointed

Psalm 28:8 “The Lord is our strength, And He is the saving refuge of His anointed.”

Power –God’s Power! I don’t know about you but I need it. When I try to exist and accomplish life and goals in my own strength, I fail or fall short. When I try to accomplish life and goals in my strength, it makes me feel stupid and backslidden. Why would I bother trying to get anything done in my own strength when God offers me His strength – His power?

Psalm 73:26 says, “My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.“ Psalm 28:8 says, “The Lord is our strength, and He is the saving refuge of His anointed.” In case you don’t know this, you are His anointed.

2 Cor. 1:21 says, “Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us…” That means He is your strength and the saving refuge of you – His anointed. A refuge is a place where you are saved and safe by Him. Psalm 84:5 says, “Blessed are those whose strength is in you…”

The power and strength of God to us are the promises of His Word. But, as in any promise, they obtained by faith. People don’t believe in what they don’t know about. People may still not believe even what they do know about. People of God should believe what God promises to us in His Word. That is called faith and faith is pleasing to God. Hebrews 11:6 reminds us of this saying, “So, you see, it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that there is a God and that he rewards those who sincerely seek Him.” Not everyone will have faith but you can and should. You should put Psalm 91:7 in your mouth. “A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you.”

Jesus came for the very reason of sharing His plan to die and be raised again to forgive man’s sins. He came to instruct man of God’s will and heart. He also came to show the love and compassion, and mercy of God. He did great miracles, healed multitudes, and cast demons of those who were possessed – except where they did not believe or have faith in Him. Matthew 13:58 reveals, “And Jesus did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith.”

One story that represents God’s power and strength, His compassion, the intercession of a friend, and great faith is found in Matthew 8:5-10. “When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, asking for help. “Lord,” he said, “my servant lies at home paralyzed and in terrible suffering.” Jesus said to him, “I will go and heal him.” The centurion replied, “Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” When Jesus heard this, He was astonished and said to those following him, “I tell you the truth, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith. “

I read this story to my four year old granddaughter this morning. I asked her, “Macy, what is that called when someone talks to Jesus?” “She looked up to me and said, “That’s called prayer Papa.” She was absolutely right. We may not be able to walk up to Jesus face to face as the centurion did, but we can and are encouraged to come to Him just the same. Hebrews 4:16 says, “Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” We are exhorted to come to Him with confidence. That’s the same as faith. It pleases God. The centurion was perfectly confident in Jesus. He told Jesus He didn’t even need to come to His home. He knew Jesus had power and authority. He made Jesus his strength! Jesus boasted about this man’s faith. I’d love for Jesus to boast about mine! How about you?

The centurion’s faith saved his servant’s life. The centurion knew that he could do nothing personally to save his servant, yet he didn’t lean on himself and say, “Oh well, I guess there is nothing that can be done. Maybe it’s his time to go. Maybe it’s God’s will that he suffer like this and then die.” That is what we think, say, and do when we are used to leaning on our strength.

When we lean on the promises of God, we think and say, “This sickness, this problem, this cursed thing is of the devil. It’s not God’s will. God is my strength. He is my healer. He is my deliverer. I am His anointed. He has told me to come to His throne room. He makes me stand firm in my faith. And as today’s Fresh Manna says, “The Lord is our strength, And He is the saving refuge of His anointed.”

Leaning on Jesus takes faith. Praying for miracles takes faith. It’s not like breaking a wishbone, finding a four-leaf cover, or crossing your fingers. It’s about having faith in Jesus as the strength and power of your life for every circumstance – In the face of adversity and negative report! You may get weak kneed and tempted to crumble in the face of adversity, but, that is why God wants to be your strength! Lean on Him with great faith! Psalm 68:35 “God is awesome in His sanctuary. The God of Israel gives power and strength to His people. Praise be to God!”

In His Love,
Pastor Tim Burt
http://readfreshmanna.blogspot.com/