God Speaking

“The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms…”

(Deuteronomy 33: 27)

My husband and I frequently watch a programme on the television about a wild life refuge which often amazes us, when we see damaged and often badly hurt birds or animals, brought to the refuge and then restored and released back into their own habitat. We also had an example of this in our own area, recently, when the media reported a baby bear cub being found in distress with no sign of the mother and this little one was transported to a local refuge centre to be cared for.

The word, refuge, is one of those words that immediately brings such reassuring thoughts to our minds. The dictionary uses these;

• Protection from danger
• a place of safety
• security
• shelter
• comfort
• asylum
• a stronghold
• a place to be helped 

The Psalmists knew that when the Lord God promised to be their refuge there was always a place of safety to run to when troubles beset them;

“I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” (Psalm 91: 2)

Psalm 91 is one of my favourite psalms, especially when I am facing all sorts of problems or even if I just want to be soothed by the reassuring love of the Father. To be able to just grasp a little of the enormity of this love, his word paints beautiful pictures so we can relate to how he wants to comfort us. This verse, in particular, always speaks to me;

“He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.” (Psalm 91: 4)

There are times when I would like to retreat from the world and this beautiful thought of snuggling under the protective feathers of the Lord brings a deep sigh of contentment, but of course we need to voluntary go and seek that refuge and we do that through prayer and then we need to release, whatever is attacking us, to him to take care of.

As we read through this psalm of comfort we get a range of problems that can be solved by entering the refuge of the Lord;

Verse3 talks about being saved from “the fowlers snare” Evil is always bated and ready to trap us, but by always seeking to stay in that safe refuge we will be safe.

Anxiety can rob us of our sleep, but once again if we choose the refuge, even those restless nights will be no more.

“You will not fear the terror of the night…” (Psalm 91: 5)

The first verse of this magnificent psalm shows us the door always open of the safest refuge anyone would ever want. We just have to ensure we enter and dwell with him

“He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.” (Psalm 91: 1)

I heard a beautiful description of what this means and I find great comfort in this

Evil cannot penetrate the shadow of the Almighty!