by Byron Davis

It seems lately I have been bumping into men who are believers, but have found themselves in a dark place. Recently five different men have reached out to me while wrestling with serious issues. Some of the issues were brought on by pride and disobedience; others, only God knows. I had no clear cut, connect the dots, definitive answers to their problems. But in every case, one thing rang true: hurt people, hurt people!
My heart is heavy—heavy for the people who have been hurt by the shrapnel of explosively bad choices. At the same time, I am angry with the enemy for reeking such havoc and causing so much collateral damage. My heart aches for these men—and I am a distant, third party to their situations.

Our Only Refuge
When faced with the hurtful and sometimes devastating demands of reality (a reality that more often than not, cannot be easily remedied) the only refuge we have is in the sanctuary of prayer and meditation—prayers that amplify the truth about God and meditation on the Scriptures that remind us who is in control. My hope is found in the truth that “in the Lord alone are righteousness and strength” (Isaiah 45:14-25). Through the sometimes deafening voices of doubt and fear I hear the Lord’s strong voice of authority saying, “Turn to me and be saved, all you ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other” (v. 22). God is God, all by himself. And no matter how hard the storms of this life shake us, our rock and our salvation is El Elyon, the all sufficient one.
It is “in the Lord [that] all the descendants of Israel will be found righteous and will exult”(v. 25).
The Lord on high is our Salvation!

Byron Davis is director of Dream of Destiny at Shepherd of the Hills Church in Porter Ranch, California.