The LORD is good,

a stronghold

   in the day of trouble;

He knows those

  who take refuge

                 in Him.

             Nahum 1. 7

(To what do we turn

    not if

    on the day of trouble,

               but when

   the struggles come?

Who or what

        is our stronghold 

   directs the course

   of our lives.

Our grip is weak,

but the LORD has

   a strong hold on us.

In Him, a refuge is not a place

      of defeat or hiding,

but of strengthening,

    from which to go forth.

A refuge is a dwelling

  in the midst of circumstances

  where God's victory resides.

Nothing random,

nothing He cannot redeem,

all eternal,

all loving,

even when

        we don't understand,

and perhaps

  even more powerful

  when it is

  beyond our vision.)

O LORD,

You are good.

You do good,

  even in the mysteries

  of this life,

even on what appears

         as the edges.

You did not promise

that life would be easy

     in this broken world,

but all through Your Word,

You have underlined

     "Do not be afraid.

      I am with you."

Help us to rest

           in Your goodness,

hold tight to You,

and engrave Your words

in our vocabulary,

in our hearts

      and in our lives:

"for You are good,

for Your steadfast love,

          endures forever."

On You, O Almighty One,

   we can stake our lives.