GOD, OUR REFUGE

If you are driving home on a deserted road in a night-time blizzard or if you are sprinting through city streets in a downpour that didn’t make the morning forecast, you want a refuge!

You feel it deep in your bones. Every ounce of your being longs for an exit, a rest area, a subway stop, or anyplace else where you might be able to find some shelter, catch your breath, and try to figure out what to do next.

Our longing for a refuge is even more intense when we are chased by an enemy.

Perhaps for you, this enemy is a person—a stalker or an abuser, a playground bully, or maybe a druglord or a loan shark.

Or perhaps your foe is an addiction or a memory that terrorizes you.

Then, too, there’s a foe we all face, no exceptions: the devil and all his empty promises.

We all yearn for a refuge, a place of safety, security, and rest.

The Bible stretches our imagination to see that God’s tent is a place of refuge for us—forever.

As you go about your day today, and when you go to sleep tonight, picture the God of the universe as your strong, comforting refuge.

Prayer

Strong and loving God, when our fear wells up in our hearts, assure us that you are truly a refuge that can never be shaken. In the strong name of Jesus we pray. Amen.

John D. Witvliet