Devotion 

My Refuge, My Fortress

Frances Taylor 

When we are in trouble, where do we turn? Is God our first thought? Do we really believe that God is our fortress, and our refuge? From the beginning Scripture tells us to trust in God. From Adam and Eve, we find human beings want to trust in themselves first. When we fail, then we turn to God. Ever wonder what it might be like to turn to God first? If we turn to God and place our trust in him, it would save us a lot of unnecessary anxiety. The key is trust. We need to trust that God knows best, that he is with us through whatever is going on, that our prayers are being heard. The difficulty is that we think we know what's best and we can get upset when God has other plans. We pray and don't like the answer, or don't want to wait for the answer.

I remember a story once told me about how we can miss God's answer because it wasn't the answer we wanted. A woman had to work to pay her bills and her mother got sick and needed full time care. She prayed and prayed that God would somehow take care of her problem. She couldn't continue to work and still be at home with her mother. Then her boss called her in and told her that business had slowed down and he needed to let her go temporarily but that she was such a good employee, he was willing to continue to pay her during this period. She went out of the office and complained to God that he had not answered her prayer but had made things worse. She never saw that she now had the money to pay her bills as well as the time her mother needed so that she could heal. God doesn't always do what we want, but he gives us what we need. When we put things in God's hands – and don't keep trying to take them back – we can relax knowing that all will be well.

Prayer 

Lord, we say we trust in you but so often we get impatient and forget that you are there always at our side. Help us in our times of trial to hold on to that trust. Amen.