Subscription Lists
Refreshment in Refuge
by Gina Burgess
We are buried under Black Friday ads to spend, spend, spend, so we can save, save, save. I want to say, “Bah! Humbug!” Not because I’ve been watching Christmas movies on TV, but because I’m told that:
I’m not happy without a new car for Christmas.
I’m not happy without soft skin, hair without gray strands, and a healthy cat eating the right food.
I’m not happy because I need a contraption to take the calluses off my feet.
I’m not glad because I have not purchased piles of gold toward my retirement, and I don’t have a certain something in my wallet… I checked!
According to things I see on TV and read on the Internet, in order to get happy I must acquire more stuff, or drastically change something about myself with something someone is selling.
Men are happier people. Know how I know?
For them, chocolate is just another snack food. Car mechanics tell them the truth. They don’t have to stop and think righty tighty, lefty lucy. Wrinkles on their face add character, and they are unable to see wrinkles in clothes. A mustache is a choice. They can do Christmas shopping on December 24 for 25 relatives in 25 minutes.
This Christmas season I am reminding myself what David said about the Children of Israel needing more stuff to be happy and satisfied…
And they tested God in their heart by asking for the food of their fancy. Yes, they spoke against God: They said, "Can God prepare a table in the wilderness? Behold, He struck the rock, so that the waters gushed out, and the streams overflowed. Can He give bread also? Can He provide meat for His people?" (Psalm 78:18-20) Men ate angels' food; He sent them food to the full…. He also rained meat on them like the dust, feathered fowl like the sand of the seas; He let them fall in the midst of their camp, all around their dwellings. So they ate and were well filled, for He gave them their own desire. They were not deprived of their craving. But while their food was still in their mouths the wrath of God came against them, and slew the stoutest of them, and struck down the choice men of Israel. (Psalm 78:25-31)
Happiness is fleeting. A joy-full heart is what I strive for these days. There is a song that David sings with a joy-full heart in 2 Samuel 22. These praises are as viable today for all believers as they were in David’s day. God has bestowed these same results upon His children of the daylight as He did for David.
Why would we ever need more stuff to be happy and content?
"With the merciful You will show Yourself merciful; with a blameless man You will show Yourself blameless; with the pure You will show Yourself pure; with the devious You will show Yourself shrewd. You will save the humble people. But Your eyes are on the haughty, that You may bring them down. "For You are my lamp, O LORD; The LORD shall enlighten my darkness. For by You I can run against a troop; by my God I can leap over a wall. As for God, His way is perfect; the word of the LORD is proven; He is a shield to all who trust in Him. (2 Samuel 22:26-31)
For this I am extremely thankful, and I joyously look forward to this Christmas season.
Rate it:
Gina Burgess has taught Sunday School and Discipleship Training for almost three decades. (Don't tell her that makes her old.) She earned her Master's in Communication in 2013.
She is the author of several books including: When Christians Hurt Christians, The Crowns of the Believers and others available in online bookstores. She authors several columns, using her God-given talent to shine a light in a dark world. You can browse her blog at Refreshment In Refuge.
If you'd like to take a look at some Christian fiction and Christian non-fiction book reviews check out Gina's book reviews at Upon
Receive the newest devotional each week in your inbox by joining the "Refreshment in Refuge" subscription list. Enter your email address below, click "Go!" and we will send you a confirmation email. Follow the instructions in the email to confirm your addition to this list.