Solid Joys
June 27
A Hiding Place for the Helpless
How abundant is your goodness, which you have . . . worked for those who take refuge in you.
Psalm 31:19
The experience of future grace often hangs on whether we will take refuge in God, or whether we doubt his care and run for cover to other shelters.
For those who take refuge in God, the promises of future grace are many and rich.
- None of those who take refuge in him will be condemned. (Psalm 34:22)
- He is a shield for all those who take refuge in him. (2 Samuel 22:31)
- Blessed are all who take refuge in him. (Psalm 2:12)
- The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; he knows those who take refuge in him. (Nahum 1:7)
We do not earn or merit anything by taking refuge in God. Hiding, because we are weak and need protection, is not a work to commend our self-sufficiency. All it does is show that we regard ourselves as helpless and the hiding place as a place of rescue.
In all those promises I just quoted, the condition of great blessing from God is that we take refuge in him. That condition is not a meritorious one; it is the condition of desperation and acknowledged weakness and need and trust.
Desperation does not demand or deserve; it pleads for mercy and looks for grace.
Excerpt from
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Enduring When Obeying Hurts
June 28•Hebrews 12:2
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The Fear That Draws Us In
June 26•Exodus 20:20
About Solid Joys
Solid Joys is a daily devotional written and read by John Piper. These short and substantive readings will feed your joy in Jesus every day of the year.