The salvation of the righteous comes from the LORD for he is their stronghold in time of trouble. The LORD helps them and delivers them; he delivers them from the wicked and saves them because they take refuge in him.
Psalm 37:39-40
How do you solve problems that you face in life? I believe a large part of our growth in the Lord lies in our answer to this question. Do we seek the Lord for our answer believing that we will receive from him? Or do we go to Google, social media, the doctor, a lawyer, a friend, a self-help book? I am not saying that a person shouldn’t seek wise council or get knowledge in a skill area. It is biblical to have wise council. However, what is your first choice?
As we read from God’s Word we learn that the victorious ones, the men and women that God used, would first seek the Lord. It is recorded 7 times from 1 Samuel 22 to 2 Samuel 6 that, “David inquired of the LORD.” In fact, David tells the King of Moab, “Would you let my father and mother come and stay with you until I learn what God will do for me?” 1 Samuel 22:3 He knew the Source. David knew that God would give him the solution to his problems and unfold the process. David was the author of Psalm 37, inspired by the Holy Spirit of course, and gives us insight. There is an awesome word study in these two verses but I will focus on the word “refuge” for this devotion. The Hebrew root meaning defines refuge as: to put trust in, confide, hope. The LORD promises to help and deliver those that come trusting, confiding, and hoping in him for answers.
Since I was a young boy I used to get horrifically, huge sores on and in my mouth. Talk about painful! Sometimes they’d be on my lips, other times on my gums or back of my throat, and the worst ones on my tongue. It would cause me major pain to eat, speak, smile, or even swallow. The worst part was that every time I got them they’d last for a minimum of 3 weeks and sometimes would continue in a cycle. UGH! For nearly 30 years I searched for answers in how to deal with the issue. Parents, doctors, dentists, friends, oils, medicines; you name it, I tried it. Many gave names and possibilities to what it was, some gave solutions. All of them were temporary fixes and only dealt with the problem after it arose.
About 8 years ago I had the worst experience ever with the issue. Starting in August with the beginning of a school year came stress and new sores. However, they never left. Instead, new ones opened every 3-4 weeks as the old ones went away. It was awful. By the time Christmas came, I had such a large one in my throat that I couldn’t swallow without pain or enjoy any food for the entire holiday season. The experience took its toll and daily brought me to a point of exhaustion.
I was done with human reasoning and medicine. I sought the Lord, I went to the Source. “Jesus, take the axe to the roots. Walk me through this, I know You are my Physician. Show me where to begin so that I don’t get these anymore.” Guess what happened? NOTHING…in the physical realm. Yet, as I began steadily seeking Jesus as my Source for solution to this problem, revelations began to come through prayer and reading of the Word. I learned about unforgiveness in my life and my past, I dealt with unbelief in Jesus as already completing my healing on the cross, and started to allow God’s Word to plant roots that would produce fruit. And now, without medicine or a doctor’s explanation I no longer get these sores. It is no longer a mystery of why they occur or where they came from because the Source walked me through the solving process and got to the root. It took time and devotion just as David inquired of the LORD, Abraham called on the name of the LORD, Paul sought Jesus in the deserts of Arabia, and Jesus himself after tempting in the desert found refuge. Let us learn from scripture, for it is written for our learning so that we might have hope. Romans 15:4
One side note, on a rare occasion through this process these sores have tried to return. Yet, because I confided in the Source, I rebuke them in the Name of Jesus and they flee. They are gone within a few days rather than weeks. I remember that His Power, His Spirit, and His Word reside in me. Go to the Source, He never fails.