Your spiritual history should give        you courage today.

Is your walk with God  based on history or hysteria?

By ‘history’ I mean do you have an observable history and track record of God’s love and faithfulness in your life that you look back on to draw courage and assurance at any time? Like David in the Book of Psalms, do you cry out to God based on your past experience with Him? One great insight into David’s confidence is found in Psalm 18:2,3.

“The Lord is my fort where I can enter and be safe; no one can follow me in and slay me. He is a rugged mountain where I hide; he is my Savior, a rock where none can reach me, and a tower of safety. He is my shield … All I need to do is cry to him—oh, praise the Lord—and I am saved from all my enemies!” Living Bible

 Troubles come. Emergencies develop. Situations turn south. The bottom falls out. Expectations are shattered. Relationships end.

The Psalmist experienced them all. After almost two decades of hiding out from a mad king … the promises given him were so delayed as to be almost colorless. But his was a truly historical response. He had seen God’s faithfulness in his life for many, many years and so his written testimony was quick and to the point: “I know Him well enough and have known Him long enough that all I have to do is cry to Him to get me through this!”

The alternative to an historical approach is the ‘hysteria’ approach.

We embrace it when we buy into the reports of our culture: “We’re doomed … there is no hope! There is no God … so I must get out of this on my own! If there is a light at the end of the tunnel it’s probably a train that’s going to run me over!”

And so, without a God who cares and responds we’re left to scream into the howling winds of adversity, sometimes ignoring or even cursing the very One who offers a mountain to hide us, a rock and a tower of safety to protect us.

This week, regardless of the stresses and difficulties in your life, there remains somewhere safe. It’s not a location as much as it’s a relationship.

“‘Do not fear [anything], for I am with you; Do not be afraid, for I am your God.

I will strengthen you, be assured I will help you; I will certainly take hold of you

with My righteous right hand [a hand of justice, of power, of victory, of salvation].’”

Isaiah 41:10 Amplified Bible

“God is a safe place to hide, ready to help when we need him. We stand fearless

at the cliff-edge of doom, courageous in sea storm and earthquake,

before the rush and roar of oceans, the tremors that shift mountains.

Jacob-wrestling God fights for us, God-of-Angel-Armies protects us.”

Psalm 46:1 The Message