Ruthless people are no threat to us

But you are a tower of refuge to the poor, O Lord, a tower of refuge to the needy in distress. You are a refuge from the storm and a shelter from the heat. For the oppressive acts of ruthless people are like a storm beating against a wall, or like the relentless heat of the desert. But you silence the roar of foreign nations. As the shade of a cloud cools relentless heat, so the boastful songs of ruthless people are stilled. (Isaiah 25:4-5)

A tower of refuge to the needy in distress. The more we read of God's power to protect his creation, the more it should drive us into his arms. Why? We live in a world where 'oppressive acts of ruthless people' can get us down quicker than we know. We need the protection of God's presence, but we also need the protection of his Word. The Word is a powerful tool to combat the lies of the enemy and to expose all manner of deception - the deception 'ruthless people' seem to operate under.

Ruthless people operate in a realm where they take no pity on anyone. All are up for grabs - everything is fair game to them. They are cruel and merciless. There is no middle ground where they are concerned. As much as they are unrelenting in their attacks, they are also as unforgiving in their attitude. They have a tendency to be rather barbarous in their behavior. We might find them a bit too 'callous' for our liking. There seems to be no end to their cold-hearted attacks on the innocent and weak. 

We cannot always avoid difficulties or the threats of difficult people. We live with them, work with them, and find them while standing in line at the supermarket. They are just 'there'. What we must do is learn how to use what God gives us to stand strong in the midst of their attacks. His Word reminds us he is stronger than anything that comes against us. It bolsters our waning faith with the reminder he never leaves us or forsakes us. When we feel abandoned, that is a lie straight out of the pit of hell.

A refuge is a safe place. We are not to fear individuals or things that threaten our well-being in either a physical or spiritual sense. While we might all want to live within the shelter of 'refuge' every minute of every day, we all know the reality of being 'vulnerable' to attack. We actually might find ourselves in 'difficult situations' that try our faith and create a sense of 'unease' in our lives. Even in the midst of these 'difficulties' God is our refuge from whatever 'storm' rages around us. We just have to learn within the shelter of his arms. Just sayin!