{"id":512,"date":"2017-07-04T18:01:32","date_gmt":"2017-07-04T17:01:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/pbthomas.com\/blog\/?p=512"},"modified":"2017-07-04T18:01:32","modified_gmt":"2017-07-04T17:01:32","slug":"david-and-goliath-god-is-our-refuge-and-strength","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/pbthomas.com\/blog\/?p=512","title":{"rendered":"David and Goliath – God is our refuge and strength"},"content":{"rendered":"

THERE ARE ALL SORTS OF GIANTS IN THE WORLD \u2013 things to make us afraid.
\nDavid and Goliath is not a story about COURAGE but about FAITH <\/p>\n

Psalm 46 1\tGod is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.
\n2\tTherefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
\nand the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
\n3\tthough its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.\tSelah
\n4\tThere is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
\nthe holy place where the Most High dwells.
\n5\tGod is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day.
\n6\tNations are in uproar, kingdoms fall; he lifts his voice, the earth melts.
\n7\tThe LORD Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.\tSelah
\n8\tCome and see the works of the LORD, the desolations he has brought on the earth.
\n9\tHe makes wars cease to the ends of the earth; he breaks the bow
\nand shatters the spear, he burns the shields with fire.
\n10\t\u201cBe still, and know that I am God;
\nI will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.\u201d
\n11\tThe LORD Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.
\nGod is our refuge and strength \u2013 an ever-present help in trouble
\nRecent weeks have been among the most troubled I can remember. A devastating fire killing many and leaving hundreds homeless. Terrorist attacks on innocent civilians. All the uncertainties of Brexit negotiations on top of a snap election resulting in a hung parliament. At the same time within our own fellowship there are a number of us suffering and in pain with all kinds different illnesses and others struggling with all kinds of difficulties. In times such as this we really need to draw on the strength God supplies, putting our trust in God who is our strength and refuge and our ever-present help (Psalm 46:1).
\nTherefore 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 46:2-3)
\nWhatever life may throw at us, we can rely on God to take care of us in this world and the next. His love will never ever let us go. The LORD Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. (Psalm 46:7) If we want to know the peace and the inner strength which God promises to all who follow Jesus, the way is simple. We just need to take time in God\u2019s presence, to draw near to Him. We can bring all our anxieties and fears to God. Take some time to reflect and mediate on God\u2019s gracious invitation to us all.
\n\u201cBe still, and know that I am God\u201d (Psalm 46:10) <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

THERE ARE ALL SORTS OF GIANTS IN THE WORLD \u2013 things to make us afraid. David and Goliath is not a story about COURAGE…<\/span><\/p>\n

Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[65],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/pbthomas.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/512"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/pbthomas.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/pbthomas.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/pbthomas.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/pbthomas.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=512"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/pbthomas.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/512\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/pbthomas.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=512"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/pbthomas.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=512"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/pbthomas.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=512"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}