God is Our Refuge from Sin

In the book of Jonah, God sees the potential for the people of Nineveh to repent and turn to His mercy and grace for life’s sustenance, purpose, and hope. He uses Jonah to bring the message of His hope to them.

In the book of Nahum, this potential no longer exists. A few generations had responded to Jonah’s message, but now the people have returned to their old ways with a vengeance. Their hearts have grown cold toward the Lord, leaving no eternal hope—only worldly lusts, passions, and desires that rule their lives to their own doom.

Yet, “the Lord is slow to anger” (Nahum 1:3), and His patience gave the people every opportunity to recognize their sinful ways and change. He revealed Himself in the storms of life—Nahum 1:3—through the help and hope He provided in those storms.

Still, the people repeatedly turned back to sin. Their hearts became so hardened that they could no longer respond to His loving cries for repentance. They would never again return to His mercy and grace.

These are the dangers of sins that keep cropping up in our lives. They may seem harmless or manageable, but in the lives of the people of Nineveh, these “harmless sins” became the source of their doom.

For those who seek to follow the Lord with obedience in all things, He is “good and a refuge in times of trouble…for those who trust in Him” (Nahum 1:7). This trouble includes our temptations and trials of many kinds. Our Father in Heaven knows the dangers we face in the form of repetitious sin, and He longs to show Himself as good and as our refuge in the face of what may be the most perilous sins—the ones that keep coming back.

A Prayer for Strength and Refuge

Dear Lord, I know that there are sins in my life that keep showing up. I ask for Your help and refuge in the face of these, and for Your strength and perseverance to be mine as these times of trouble and challenge come into my life. May Your victory over them be mine!