“O Lord, my strength and my stronghold, my refuge in the day of trouble to you shall the nations come from the ends of the Earth and say, ‘Our fathers have inherited nothing but lies, worthless things in which there is no profit. Can man make for himself? Gods such are not gods. Therefore, behold, this once I will make them know my power and my might, and they shall know that my name is the Lord.'”
– Jeremiah 16:19–21
Oh, what a picture. One of God’s provision in the lives of those who trust in Him. God’s love for us. “O Lord, my strength and my stronghold, my refuge in the day of trouble.” I don’t know what you’re walking through in your life right now, but to anyone who feels weary or weak, be reminded in this moment that God is your strength and your stronghold. And for anyone who is walking through trials, trouble, valleys to see God reminding you today in Jeremiah 16:19, that He is your refuge in the day of trouble. That there is rest and shelter that is to be found in God for you today.
Jeremiah 16:19–21 Reminds Us God Loves Us
He loves you so much. He is your strength and your stronghold and your refuge in the day of trouble. And then to see the way that leads Jeremiah to say to you, “Shall the nations come and say, ‘Our fathers have been inherited nothing but lies, worthless things in which there is no profit.” Basically the picture is, nations who have worshiped false gods and idols that are not strength, they’re not stronghold, they’re not a refuge in the day of trouble, they are empty. And God says, “Behold, I will bring them to know my power and my might. They shall know that my name is the Lord, that my name is strength and a stronghold and a refuge in the day of trouble.”
God is Our Strength and Stronghold
So for all who know this about God, that He is our strength and our stronghold and our refuge in the day of trouble, don’t we long for the nations to know this about God? For people around us who don’t know God to know His power, and His might to know that He is the Lord, and He will be all these things for anyone who trusts in Him. And so we pray, God, we exalt you as our strength and our stronghold. We exalt you as our refuge in the day of trouble.
God, we praise you for promising to be these things for us today. We find refuge in you, we seek refuge in you, we need strength from you and we praise you for your promise to be all of those things to us. And not just to us, but to all who needs you and will look to you, who will turn aside from the false gods of the nations, from the idols of the peoples and who will seek you and trust you alone.
Jeremiah 16:19–21 Helps Us to Endure Trials
So, God, we pray that you would help us to point others to you today as refuge in trouble. Help us to be sensitive to the opportunities we have today, walking alongside other people who are enduring trial, to point them to the refuge that’s found in you. Other people who are weak to point them to the strength that’s found in you and not just people around us, but we think of all the nations. We pray all the time for specific people groups on this podcast.
God, we pray that all of them, all the nations would know that you are the true strength and stronghold in refuge. That there is no God like you, that all the other gods are not gods they’re little G gods that are empty and worthless. That you alone have all power, you alone have all might, that you alone are the Lord that Jesus, you have died on the cross, risen from the grave to make it possible for us to be reconciled to the one true God to know Him as our strength and our stronghold and our refuge forever and ever.
Bringing All the Nations to Know the Gospel
God, bring all the nations to know this and use our lives and our families and our churches to make this good news known among all the nations we pray. Oh God, bring it about, we pray, make it happen that all the nations, people from every tribe and tongue, every language, people group in the world will know your power and your might. They will know that your name is the Lord. The strength and the stronghold of life and the only refuge in the day of trouble. And we pray all this according to your Word in Jeremiah 16:19–21 in Jesus’ name. Amen.
David Platt serves as a pastor in metro Washington, D.C. He is the founder of Radical.
David received his Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and is the author of Don’t Hold Back, Radical, Follow Me, Counter Culture, Something Needs to Change, Before You Vote, as well as the multiple volumes of the Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary series.
Along with his wife and children, he lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area.
