“The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms”
   Deuteronomy 33:27a

I love this verse, don’t you?  For many years when I have pictured this verse, I’ve imagined a father cradling his child, protecting, comforting, sheltering, providing a place of rest, perhaps even singing over the child as the Scripture speaks of in Zephaniah 3:17.  While studying this verse in context, however, I came away with a different picture.  Verses 26 and 27 together read this way:
“There is no one like the God of Jeshurun* who rides across the heavens to help you and on the clouds in his majesty.  The eternal God is your refuge and underneath are the everlasting arms.  He will drive out your enemies before you, saying, ‘Destroy them!’”
​Reading through several commentaries on the Blue Letter Bible website I find this information:

•  The “arm” is the symbol of power (Adam Clarke).
•  “Refuge” – dwelling place, at home, at rest in Him (Barnes; Wesley).
•  “The almighty power of God is engaged for the protection and consolation of all who
    trust in Him, in their greatest straits and distresses and under their heaviest burdens”
    (Matthew Henry).  I like that!
•  Wesley quotes Henry and adds this:  “driving out the enemy before them by His                 almighty  power.”

The picture here is not of a daddy holding an infant in his arms and singing lullabies, but rather of the majestic warrior-Father, the Almighty God who charges across the heavens to come to the aide of His child, driving away the enemies, even willing to destroy the enemy who would destroy His child.  All of this so that His child remembers He has a home and a strong (mighty) loving Father, a dwelling place of safety where the enemy cannot reach, a place to experience rest from the weariness of life.  Wow!

I know many people who are discouraged these days. 

• COVID-19 has affected our lives far longer and in much harder ways than we ever dreamed it could.
• There seems to be an unkind spirit at work in the world that has wormed its way even into the church. 
• Many of us have been separated from our support systems – friends, Bible study groups, work colleagues, etc. – so that we feel as if we’re going it alone.
• So many things have just seemed so much harder this year and we don’t have an end date.

The enemy of our souls has used all these (and more) on top of our everyday temptations and trials and difficulties to fight against God’s people and to bring many to a place of discouragement.  Weepy days.  Days we can’t seem to control our anger.  Depression.  Discouragement.
BUT –
God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble (Ps 46:1).
AND –
I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God in whom I trust” (Ps 91:2).
AND –
We overcome this enemy “by the blood of the Lamb, [Jesus Christ], and the word of our testimony” (Revelation 12:11).
Don’t give up!  Keep holding on tightly to your Lord.  Encourage yourself with those things you always said you believed.  Hang on to the promises of God!  Hold tightly to Jesus.
BECAUSE –
THERE IS NO ONE LIKE YOUR GOD!  He rides across the heavens to help you.  He is Your refuge.  His everlasting arms fight for you as He drives out your enemy before you. 

The eternal God is your refuge and underneath are the everlasting arms!
Deuteronomy 33:27a
 
*Jeshurun is a poetic nickname for Israel meaning the upright or righteous one.
~BB

   Have you ever wondered how God really feels about you?  You’ve probably read in the Scriptures that God loved the world so much that He gave His Son that we might be saved; but maybe you’ve wondered how He feels about you specifically.  Maybe you’ve wondered if He loves you specifically, or if He just loves you because you’re part of the “world” in “God so loved the world…”  Sometimes I have wondered that, too.

​    God loves to give us pictures in the natural world that show us truths we can’t see with our eyes.  Think about all of the parables Jesus told to illustrate the Kingdom of God, or the love of the Father.  Since it’s hard for us to SEE how much He loves us, I think He gives us glimpses of His love through other people.  Think of someone in your life that you know has loved you – parent, friend, teacher, spouse, child, mentor.  These are people who have loved you imperfectly.  There were some days when they were self-absorbed or preoccupied or not feeling well. 

     And yet, you knew they loved you because of the way they looked at you, the way they took your hand when you were walking together, the way they spoke your name or called you by a special name. You knew they loved you because they always encouraged you, called just to hear your voice wanted to share life with you provided for your needs and desires.

    No matter how much they loved you, their picture of God’s love is not as big, as grand, as deep, as passionate, as marvelous, as redemptive as His.  And sometimes human love changes through the years due to circumstances, hurts, disappointments, but God’s love does not change (James 1:17).

    These human examples of love are pictures (parables) of how God loves you.  Imagine Him looking at you the way your grandma did, encouraging you like your favorite teacher, holding your hand like your lover does, calling you by a special name He calls no one else.  Imagine Him calling just to hear your voice as you answer, leaving little gifts in your day because He knows you’ll enjoy them, sharing something funny with you so He can hear the sound of your laugh.  Imagine Him wanting to share every minute with you.

     That’s how God really feels about you.

     Or if you’re having a hard time recalling someone else’s love for you, think about your love for that newborn baby, or when you first realized you were “in love”.  Do you think God could love you any less than you have loved others?  “See what great love the Father has LAVISHED on us, that we should be called children of God” (1 John 3:1).

    The Scriptures don’t just tell us that He loves us lavishly.  It tells us that He IS love (1 John 4:16).  As we think about God’s love while reading the famous “Love is…” passage (1 Corinthians 13) we see that He is patient and kind with you.  He realizes it takes you (and me) a while to learn something, to understand truth.  His love for you is generous, not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. 

    Can you imagine Him being rude?  He seeks to honor, not dishonor you.  He’s on your side.  He isn’t easily angered and He keeps no record of wrongs.  That means He doesn’t keep bringing them up to throw in your face after you’ve repented of them.  If you hear a voice that does this, rest assured it is not the voice of the One who loves you.  He is not secretly happy when things go badly for you; rather, He rejoices when people see your true worth.  He is protective of you; He always hopes that you will return His love, and always perseveres to bring good to you (1 Corinthians 13:4-7; Romans 8:28; Philippians 1:6).

     That is how God feels about you, His daughter.  That is how God feels about you, His son.
“I have loved you, my people, with an everlasting love; with unfailing love I have drawn you to myself” (Jeremiah 31:3 NLT).

BB

     The second truth that grips me is that, because of His gift to us of free will, He does not just zap us and make us into little robots who are just like Him. 

      Becoming like Jesus Christ requires co-operation on our part. 

     The Holy Spirit does the work in us as far as we co-operate with Him; but He can’t transform a person who doesn’t submit to the process.  His part is to show us what needs to change in our lives; our part is to repent, submit to His Word and work, and take the steps necessary to change our behavior or attitude while leaning on Him for help, strength, determination, humility.

     In Exodus 17 the Amalekites attack the Israelites as they are on their journey through the wilderness.  Joshua, as the military commander of Israel, leads the people into battle while Moses, Aaron and Hur go to the top of a high hill with the Staff of God – the Banner of God – lifted high to encourage the people in their fight. 

       As long as the people can see the Banner of God raised high, they fight bravely and begin to defeat their foes; but when Moses’ arms grow weary and begin to lower, the people lose sight of the Banner of God.  They begin to lose heart in the battle and the advantage shifts to the enemy.  Aaron and Hur see what is happening and take steps to prop Moses’ arms up so the people never lose sight of the Banner of God.  The Israelites are able to fight bravely on and are ultimately victorious over the enemy.  To commemorate this great deliverance Moses builds an altar and names it The Lord Is My Banner.

     According to Ann Spangler in Praying the Names of God, banners were often carried by armies as marks of identification and as symbols that embodied the ideals of the people (109).  Moses’ staff symbolized the might and power and love of the God who had delivered them from bondage in Egypt, led them through the desert, and provided water and food when they were hungry and thirsty. 

     This staff, this banner, was the symbol that their God was powerful enough to defeat every foe and overcome every obstacle.  When they remembered that God was for them, they had the will, the strength, the stamina, and the encouragement to keep on fighting the battle and were victorious.  When they forgot that God was with them, they began to lose the battle.  Centuries later, we continue to face battles on the way to the promised land, and some of the worst of them are internal battles – like learning to love.

     1 Corinthians 13 speaks about patience being a mark of love, and if I’m serious about becoming more like Jesus, I realize that some radical work needs to be done in my heart.  We read that love is patient and kind.  These are qualities that define our Lord, but we are so often impatient with others:  the person who drives 45 mph on the interstate, the person in front of us at Kroger with an envelope full of coupons, the child who makes a mess every place he goes, the immigrant whose English is difficult to understand. 

     Cooperating with the Holy Spirit means we don’t just acknowledge that we are frequently impatient and then expect Him to zap us into more patient people. 

    Co-operation with the Holy Spirit requires prayer and submission and work, identifying strategies for avoiding the sin, looking to Him in the battle, and trusting in His power, provision and love.

     "Lord, I realize that impatience does not reflect Your image and character.  Convict me each time I am impatient so that I might turn aside from it and choose patience and kindness instead.  I want to become more like You and so reflect Your image.  Cleanse my heart of every attitude that nullifies patience in my life.  Thank You for Your mighty, transforming power at work in me.  Thank You for Your patience and kindness toward me.  Help me to rest in Your love and peace so that I might truly reflect Your image to my family first, and to others I rub shoulders with each day.  May they see You reflected in my life.  Amen."

B.B.

​Almighty God, the great I am
Immovable Rock, omnipotent, powerful, Awesome Lord
Victorious Warrior, commanding King of kings, mighty Conqueror
And the only time, the only time I ever saw him run
Was when He ran to me. He took me in his arms
Held my head to his chest, said “my son's come home again”
He Lifted my face, Wiped the tears from my eyes
With forgiveness in his voice He said,
“Son, do you know I still love you?”