Refuge

' It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man. It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in princes.' - Psalms 118:8-9

   Refuge ... 

I think if you ask the millions living as refugees around the world what comes to their mind when they hear the word refuge, you will get a lot of answers. Some political, some emotional; but likely something much deeper and more personal than most/all of us reading this could ever imagine.

Yet shouldn't we as Christians have that word resonate even deeper within us? The Bible often uses this term for how we should come to the LORD ... as a refugee ... seeking not only shelter from the storms of this world, but safety from our marks of sin against a Holy and Just God. Yet it seems as if we are too busy (or more comfortable) wandering in the sin, fog, and storms of life.

We call for help, but that is not the same thing as taking refuge.

Taking refuge seems to me much more active ... it is more than calling out ... we need to move out of hostile territory, into safety. Taking risks, making choices, and putting forth the effort.

Unlike worldly refuge, this is not to say we earn our refuge (or salvation). Yet I believe one can be saved by the Grace of God through faith in Christ, while experiencing life outside of the refuge He so lovingly and openly provides for us.

It's like being a member of the family, but choosing to live in the doghouse in the yard despite the ongoing invitation to come inside ...

So perhaps today is a good day for you and I to reflect back on who we are, and Whose we are!

We are pilgrims ... refugees even ... in desperate need of Him ... so let us take shelter from our own selves (sin) and from the storms of this life ... the storms may rage, but the shelter is there for us, to bear it together with Him.

Let us not trust in man, or princes, or the government as this Psalm warns ... let us trust in Him Alone as our source of safety and refuge.

His,
~Matthew