Echoes From the Campfire

Keep your eyes on the horizon and keep your .45 loaded and ready.”
              –Cliff Hudgins  (Viejo and the Ranger)

    “Turn away my eyes from looking at worthless things, And revive me in Your way.”
              –Psalm 119:37 (NKJV)
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The more I read from the saints that have gone on before, and the more I read from respectable Christian ministers today, the more I see that it is the quiet and still times that God works and ministers to the soul.  It is not the clamor of the drums, nor the busyness and hype that is needed but the calm soothing voice of the Holy Spirit.
    I’ve always enjoyed the serenity that I find in the mountains.  There is something about being in God’s great cathedral.  Some may say the ocean, or the desert, anywhere as long as there is the sound of quiet filling the air.  Sometimes there is the need to just get away and walk in God’s creation.
    Everyone takes and finds refuge in something.  For some it may be alcohol, or others gambling, others may seek the noise of the crowd or concert.  These are really not a refuge, but an escape.  There is a difference!  Life is such that no person is free from trouble.  “Responsibilities produce worry and tension.  Our tasks are often dangerous, monotonous, unpleasant.  People are sometimes difficult.  World conditions are disturbing and threatening.  Events occur daily to disturb and sadden our lives.  Death stalks our paths.” (Leonard S. Edmonds)  Do any of these fit your situation?  
    How do you escape?  Do you read, go to a concert or play, go to a movie?  Perhaps you gather with friends so you can gossip, ahem, I mean share your troubles and complaints.  Maybe there is a hobby that you seek out, or perhaps it is exercise that helps.  Often, way too often, we seek refuge in ways more harmful than helpful.
    Our refuge should be in Christ!  David writes, “In thee, O Lord, do I seek refuge.” (Psalm 31:1)  There are times when no other refuge is adequate.  Perhaps the ordinary troubles and anxieties of the day may be hidden in a hobby or friends, but there are those great tragedies when the only help is the Lord.  The times we live in are surely troubling and there is little that a person can do but turn to God.  He is our help, our strength, and our guide.
    Keep your eyes on the skies, and one day soon we’ll not only be telling troubles and toils goodbye, but we’ll be singing as we go upward to glory, “goodbye world, goodbye.”