"a wonder to many"

One of the "luxuries" of unemployment is the feeling that everyday is like a Saturday. In fact, it was difficult for me to remember which day of the week it was, because we spent this first week regrouping-- sleeping in, working on projects that had been on the back burner for too long (such as unpacking the boxes in the garage), and spending time with friends.

A couple days after my husband was laid off, we were doing just that-- we slept in and read the Bible together before getting up for the day. That morning, we read Psalm 71:

"I have become as a wonder to many, but You are my strong refuge." (Psalm 71:7 NKJV)

I wondered what the word "wonder" meant. I wasn't so sure it was a positive term, especially if "You are my strong refuge" immediately followed it. If I were to paraphrase it, it would have sounded a bit like this:

"Everyone is talking about me (behind my back?), but I will seek protection from You."

Not exactly encouraging. So I looked up the words "wonder" and "refuge" in the Strong's Concordance, and this is what I got...

WONDER [4159]: wonder (as a special display of God's power), sign, token (of future event). (Used in Exodus for the plagues against Egypt.)

REFUGE [4268] from rain or storm, from danger of falsehood

Hmm... danger of falsehood? Why falsehood? The more I thought about it, however, the more I realized that my greatest struggle this past week was the fight to believe what is true. When my emotions were hard to control, it was a constant battle to remember Who God is and where we as believers find our true sense of security.

As I told a friend at church today, "God's grace has been so great this week. We are in a good place-- a very hard place, but good. It was just a job-- not our security."

So allow me to try paraphrasing again...

"You have chosen me to be a living demonstration of Your power. You will shield me from the lies of the enemy, because You are the Truth."

Not a bad reason to be talked about.

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"Let my mouth be filled with Your praise and with Your glory all the day." (Psalm 71:8)