“The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms: and He shall thrust out the enemy from before thee; and shall say, Destroy them.” (Deuteronomy 33:27)
This is just one of 29 verses of Moses’ final blessing on Israel before he went up to the mountain of Nebo in the land of Moab to die. The LORD God eternal, Who always was, is and will be forever, the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last is a refuge for Israel and all those who love Him, believe and trust in Him. He is a refuge for the righteous. “The name of the LORD is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe.” (Proverbs 18:10) This is not talking of our own righteousness but the righteousness that comes through the work of Jesus on the cross. “And be found in Him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:” (Philippians 3:9)
“...underneath are the everlasting arms...” Moses describes God’s support. He sustains us, bears us up, keeps us in His care and helps us at all times. He is with us even in our lowest and worst times, when we fail Him and fall into sin. He’s made provision (1John 1:9) knowing that we are weak because of the flesh. He makes a way for us to escape the snares of the devil when we acknowledge the Truth. (2Timothy 2:25,26) The Lord will never allow anyone to snatch us from Him. “And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand. My Father, which gave them Me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of My Father's hand.” (John 10:28-29) His covenant in the atonement work of Jesus still holds. “Now unto Him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.” (Jude 1:24-25)
Troubles come to all of us. Some strip us of all the defenses we have built to protect ourselves. But God’s everlasting arms never fail. His everlasting arms are there with His grace and keep us from utter destruction. And although we may feel like we will be destroyed, we are not touched by it. When we are the most vulnerable, LORD JEHOVAH is our strength. “Trust ye in the LORD for ever: for in the LORD JEHOVAH is everlasting strength:” (Isaiah 26:4) There is strength for repentance and for renewal and for refreshing. There is strength to live another day, to do God’s Will again and to bring glory to His Name.
And for the worker in the Lord’s work, God’s everlasting arms are strength when he is weary. The work of the Lord is done in faith. Most times, the work may not be manifest even before his death. But the faithful laborer continues to give his time, energy and life to spread the Gospel and to bring light to those in darkness. He rests in the promise that he can do all things through Christ. (Philippians 4:13) He stands strong while insults, difficulties, threats and persecution come against him. He can say with Paul, “Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.” (2Corinthians 12:10)
There is no fear in any circumstance, not even death. For “...If God be for us, who can be against us?” His strong everlasting arms uphold us. He drives the enemy, the destroyer, from us and commands us to make desolate the works of the enemy. And when all is said and done and we come to our appointed time, His everlasting arms are still holding us never losing that strength that we need. “Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of His understanding. He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might He increaseth strength. (Isaiah 40:28-29)
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