In a world that is filled with anxiety, unrest, and fear, our heart cries out for a secret place of refuge from the “storm”. That place of refuge is not found by vacationing on a remote tropical island, a white-sand beach, or a mountain top cottage; it is only found in the presence of God, and it is irrespective of physical location. Psalm 91:1 puts it like this, “He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.” We don’t just come into His presence for a vacation and then return to the life of stress, but the original Hebrew bears out that we sit down, remain, and settle under His covering; we stop and stay in the shade of His presence. Does this mean we will not face any more stress and storms of this life? No! It means that in the midst of them we will find rest, “In the world you will have tribulation;” Jesus said, “but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world” John 16:33. And David said in Psalm 36:9 “In Your light we see light.” Yes His presence provides a pavilion of safety in the time of trouble and strife, (see Psalm 27:5 and 31:20.)
God’s Wonderful Presence
-By Rose Hill
(The following six four line stanzas are respectively based on Psalm 100;2; 16:11; 114:7; 31:20; 140:13; 1 Peter 5:7.)
We come into the presence of the King,
And about His faithfulness we will sing.
Serving Him is such a delight,
While walking in His way and doing what’s right.
In His presence our joy is full,
As we give Him our heart and soul.
He will show us the way to go,
At His right hand there are pleasures we know.
His presence is such a glorious thing,
As praises and worship to Him we sing.
Tremble O earth in the presence of Him,
Who has the right to punish your sin.
In His presence we are safe from all harm,
There is no reason for fear and alarm.
He hides His own in a secret place,
The enemy can’t hurt those saved by grace.
The upright shall in His presence dwell,
There before His face they know all is well.
They give thanks to His wonderful name,
He doesn’t change He’s always the same.
We come into the presence of the King,
Every problem and trouble to Him we bring.
On the Lord we cast every care and woe,
For He cares for us more than we know.
Scripture quotations are from the New King James Version copyright by Thomas Nelson Co. and are used by permission.