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Refreshment in Refuge
by Gina Burgess
Like water spilled on the ground, which cannot be recovered, so we must die. But God does not take away life; instead, he devises ways so that a banished person may not remain estranged from him.
And you wonder why things we consider bad sometimes happen.
The crevasse within the soul is such a god-sized hole, one must either find or create a god to fill it. For the most part, Americans give evidence that they use two primordial gods called Fortune and Destiny to that end. The question is why do so many put faith in what has proven very fickle down through the ages? Humans would rather put faith in what they can see and touch rather than in the invisible. It is our nature. Worshipping Fortune, man depends upon the work of his hands. In worshiping Destiny, he haplessly attributes circumstance to “It just wasn’t in the cards,” or “It was fate.” Whether good or bad, regardless of his choices and decisions, Americans of today relinquish responsibility for consequence. It wasn’t always so.
Because man sees circumstance as destiny, seeds of discontent germinate because satisfaction is tasted, but not savored and fully digested. Cravings keep driving a person without giving any direction to where it can be satisfied. Many things lessen the ache, but all are temporal. This causes that circle of despair which has no egress. This is what causes Americans to put faith in what the moth can destroy and hope in what can be gone in a moment. Fortune and Destiny have no eyes to see the despair and troubles, no ears to hear the cry for help and no hand to reach down and comfort. Yet, Americans keep driving down an empty road searching for the elusive prize of satisfaction, never recognizing the temporal cannot satisfy the eternal.
Where is their security, their satisfaction? I have never known a contented person to drive down that road called Pitfall. It is so sad what I see bad choices and decisions made where judgment is faulty because the decisions are made on worldly values. Destiny is proven a lie, for it truly is a choice how we live our lives and how we align our priorities. Our forefathers recognized Truth and chose to fight for it, but today we are told truth is relative.
Too many people believe a good and loving God would never allow troubles or problems. Some believe that all troubles are the result of sin, when in fact, it is because God is good and loving that He allows these troubles. One reason for the predicaments we face is that they are common to man. There are many whose problems seem greater and quite a few who we think we should be so blessed with their problems, and their money. Give a person a lot of money then unlock all restrictions and I’ll show you a walking time bomb. Too many of the rich and famous suck down temporary pleasure, listening to the call of the world, becoming mesmerized by it like some cobra charmed by music from a swaying flute. They confirm the pursuit of satisfaction is their life journey and Personal Pleasure is their god. But the charmer never satisfies, so the search goes on.
Their trials are really no different than what you and I face day today. If you are breathing, you have problems. We all have problems. Some people’s problems seem bigger than other people’s problems. They are not. Centuries ago Paul wrote, “You have been put to no test but such as is common to man: and God is true, who will not let any test come on you which you are not able to undergo; but he will make with the test the way out of it, so that you may be able to go through it.” He had the ear of God, yet he was three times whipped with the lash, he was stoned and left for dead, was hungry, endured poverty, twice shipwrecked, never had vast wealth as defined by the world. Yet, he called himself rich. How can someone say that, after enduring such difficulties? How can we? Because of the Love of God and the Mind of Christ, both perfect gifts from above from the Father of Lights.
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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
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