His Word is a Lamp: Nahum

9/20/2023

The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; He knows those who take refuge in Him. Nahum 1:7
I would venture to guess that not many of us turn to Nahum regularly in our times of devotion. That’s a pretty easy guess to make because in the book, God gave Nahum a strong message to the city of Nineveh, warning of destruction and then predicting its fulfillment (1:1,8). The city that once had repented and turned to the Lord at Jonah’s preaching now had turned back away from Him. At the same time, God was now setting His people free from bondage and calling them back to Himself (1:12-13). In fact, He knows those who are His, those who have turned to Him as their refuge as we see in Nahum 1:7, and He cares for us.

There are 3 things that show God as refuge in this verse that are worth unpacking.

His character. God is described as good in this verse. His goodness shows us that He is trustworthy and that there is no deception within Him. Thus, when He tells us that He is our refuge and strength (Ps. 46:1), we can believe Him!
He is a stronghold, strong refuge. While it might seem obvious to state that He’s a refuge when I’m listing reasons that He’s our refuge, it needed to be said. He’s always present and always there for us, not only in the middle of life but we can find Him strong in our days of trouble. That’s what makes Him our refuge.
He knows those who take refuge in Him. He’s personally involved in our lives, not distant, or just tolerating folks seeking refuge in Him. He deeply knows those of us who seek such refuge and find it with Him.

So, now that we have unpacked this verse, I think the only thing each of us has left to do is to do just what the verse talks about: take refuge in Him! Thankfully, He’s made provision for us to have that refuge in Christ. Let’s take refuge in Him today.

On Christ the solid rock we stand,
Pastor Andy

Questions for Reflection: