06/04/2026
Refuge, Shelter, Trust
IF ... THEN
I have often been surprised by my own lack of understanding that if I do this, then that will happen. It applies to the best of things (joyous and celebratory), the worst of things (hurtful and shameful), and everything in between (those jalapeño chips!).
The Bible is full of if-then promises, and this particular “if” has found me in a season of feeling exposed. My emotions, my weaknesses, my shortcomings, my lack—honestly, every reminder of why I need Jesus—has made its presence known.
I wish I could say that I was quick to open my Bible, put on worship music, call the right person, or pray. But I didn’t. This time, I just cried. I apologized out loud even though no one else was in the room. I listed all the reasons why I found myself carrying this emotional weight. I shared it with my wonderful husband, and then I was just quiet.
It was the most hushed my mind had been in a while. At first, it felt uncomfortable, but then I realized something: I was making the Lord my refuge, my shelter, and my trust.
All the things that had been reeling through my mind—the ways I could have done better, the reasons why I am the way that I am, even the accusations of the enemy that I had been giving attention to—were all outside my refuge.
NO EVIL WILL CONQUER YOU.
NO PLAGUE WILL COME NEAR YOUR HOME.
ANGELS WILL PROTECT YOU.
YOU WILL TRAMPLE & CRUSH THE ENEMY.
You may not think you’re a conqueror right now. You may look around and think that Bible stuff sounds nice, but your thoughts are telling you it’s all your fault, or that you brought this mess on yourself. (You fill in the blank.)
But I recently read a great quote:
“O thought, you see, you’re just a thought,
You feel so real but you are not.
I have the Word for what is true.
I serve my God, I don’t serve you.”
— Sarah Sparks
PRAYER
Lord, we declare that You are our refuge, our shelter, and our trust. Because we dwell in Your presence, we will not be conquered by fear, overcome by evil, or shaken by the lies of the enemy. We stand secure under Your protection, guarded by Your angels, and empowered to trample every work of darkness beneath our feet.
In Jesus’ name, amen.
