Nahum 1:7

The Lord is good, a refuge in times of trouble.  He cares for those who trust in him, NIV

Amen.

I looked up the main words of this verse in my Hebrew to English dictionary:

The Lord is good – pleasing, desirable, gracious, best, right, happy.

a refuge – stronghold, fortress, place of protection.

He cares – to know, recognize, understand

for those who trust in him – to take refuge in

So, there you have it.  The Lord is the best of all possible place of protection.  He is a caring, willing refuge for those who will take refuge in him.  I love the intimacy of relationship that this verse conveys, and I am humbled that my Heavenly Father is willing and able to protect me if I will only seek his protection and trust in Him.

Trust is the antidote to worry.  I will ponder these concepts today.

I Peter 5:7

Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. NIV

What a beautiful, beautiful verse.

What a privilege.  What an honor.

The creator of the universe cares for me.

When I used the Greek to English dictionary in my concordance to look up the word “cares,” in this verse, I was surprised by its definition, “to trouble; to concern.”  Curiously, those same words appear in the definition for “anxiety.”

Candidly, I never pictured God as being troubled over me.  I’ve always pictured Him as calm, never surprised, never grieved.  But, as I think about it, I think that there are verses that say he is grieved sometimes … I should look those up. As I typed that, I thought, “well, you have a concordance right there … do it!” And, sure enough, the Lord appears to be grieved in several instances.

He is all an all-knowing God.  He knows everything I’ve done and everything I will do, and yet, He still cares.  That’s pretty powerful.  I am so thankful to have that knowledge today.

Psalm 55:22

Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous fall.  NIV

The Message translates this verse, “Pile your troubles on God’s shoulders — he’ll carry your load, he’ll help you out.” The Message

Have you every carried a worry for a long time and then finally given it to God?  It does seem like a weight is lifted from your shoulders.  The feeling of relief is absolutely physical.  Why is that?  If we know that God tells us over and over again not to worry, and if we know that He is trustworthy to carry our cares and our fears, if we know that He will sustain us, why do we worry in the first place?

I’m really going to think about that today.  I don’t want to be weighed down by worry … ever!