Take Refuge

Psalms 118:8 says, "It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man"

You will find many trivial posts on the internet that show this as the center verse of the Bible. Actually, in researching many different translations and original manuscripts the translations are based on, I found that this is not true in any of them. But, whether this is the actual center verse or not, this is still probably one of the most concise descriptions of the God/Man relationships.

Through this blog, we will explore the many aspects of what taking refuge really means. But for today, let me tell you a story of how this came to be a significant verse in my life.

When I was in college (Wayland Baptist University), I applied for the Baptist Student Union (BSU) summer missions program. Part of that process included face-to-face interviews with others who had previously served as part of the BSU summer missions. One of the questions asked in the interview was, "If you aren't selected for BSU summer missions, would you like for us to forward your application to the Home Mission Board for their summer mission program?" I told them no, if BSU wasn't the place for me, then I would just go home for the summer and work.

I later received a letter that I had not been accepted by the BSU which was soon followed with the first of many letters from the Home Mission Board asking me for information to complete my application for summer missions. Naturally, since I didn't intend to apply for the Home Mission Board program, I just ignored the letters. I did not know, however, that they were sending the same letters to my home address and my parents were opening them and sending in all the required information (medical history form, letters of recommendation from my pastor and others, etc.).

Being at a Christian university, many of my friends had also applied for the different summer missions programs so that when packets of information started arriving it was easy to tell what they were about. Imagine my surprise when I got a "package" from the Home Mission Board. I was really confused, but I immediately started bargaining with God. "OK God, if this is Maine or California, I'll go." Since I lived in Texas, those were two random places to the east and west coast. Well... I opened the package and the letter began "Greetings from the great state of California".

I've always been one that needed neon signs to direct the way, but this one actually felt more like a sledge hammer, but I did get the message. Some of my other friends at the dorm had also received packages so we decided to do a Bible Study together to prepare for our assignment. We contemplated what we should study as a group and finally settled on the topic of seeking the center of God's will. After all, we were going on the "mission field," so we really needed to be centered in what God would have for us while we were there. In preparing for the study, I found a list of trivia in the back of my "Open Bible" published by Zondervan. There it had Psalms 118:8 as the center verse of the Bible, 2 Chronicles 20:17 as the center of the Old Testament, Acts 17:17 as the center of the New Testament and Psalms 117 as both the shortest chapter and the middle chapter of the Bible.

The trivia about Psalms 117 is the only part of this that is correct, but when combined as a study, these passages make a powerful message about who God is and his relationship with mankind. As part of this blog, I'll go through the different passages and how they came together as part of that study.

For today, remember that taking refuge in God rather than trusting in Man means that God must be first in your life. Even ahead of your own personal desires.