Refuge. God is my refuge.
What does this mean?
This has been my deepest question for the last year!
Psalm 91
1 Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.[a]
2 I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust.”
will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.[a]
2 I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust.”
3 Surely he will save you
from the fowler’s snare
and from the deadly pestilence.
4 He will cover you with his feathers,
and under his wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.
5 You will not fear the terror of night,
nor the arrow that flies by day,
6 nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,
nor the plague that destroys at midday.
7 A thousand may fall at your side,
ten thousand at your right hand,
but it will not come near you.
8 You will only observe with your eyes
and see the punishment of the wicked.
from the fowler’s snare
and from the deadly pestilence.
4 He will cover you with his feathers,
and under his wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.
5 You will not fear the terror of night,
nor the arrow that flies by day,
6 nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,
nor the plague that destroys at midday.
7 A thousand may fall at your side,
ten thousand at your right hand,
but it will not come near you.
8 You will only observe with your eyes
and see the punishment of the wicked.
9 If you say, “The Lord is my refuge,”
and you make the Most High your dwelling,
10 no harm will overtake you,
no disaster will come near your tent.
11 For he will command his angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways;
12 they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.
13 You will tread on the lion and the cobra;
you will trample the great lion and the serpent.
and you make the Most High your dwelling,
10 no harm will overtake you,
no disaster will come near your tent.
11 For he will command his angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways;
12 they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.
13 You will tread on the lion and the cobra;
you will trample the great lion and the serpent.
14 “Because he[b] loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him;
I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.
15 He will call on me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble,
I will deliver him and honor him.
16 With long life I will satisfy him
and show him my salvation.”
I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.
15 He will call on me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble,
I will deliver him and honor him.
16 With long life I will satisfy him
and show him my salvation.”
Verse 2. I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress. To take up a general truth and make it our own by personal faith is the highest wisdom. It is but poor comfort to say `the Lord is a refuge, 'but to say he is my refuge, is the essence of consolation. Those who believe should also speak—"I will say", for such bold avowals honour God and lead others to seek the same confidence. Men are apt enough to proclaim their doubts, and even to boast of them, indeed there is a party nowadays of the most audacious pretenders to culture and thought, who glory in casting suspicion upon every thing: hence it becomes the duty of all true believers to speak out and testify with calm courage to their own well grounded reliance upon their God. Let others say what they will, be it ours to say of the Lord, "he is our refuge."
Mepkin Abbey was the first place that brought this Psalm to my daily attention. The monks recite this Psalm every day at lunch. But then, on Monday, I heard it in a local ministry. Wow! I loved hearing it from two very different places, one Reformed Catholic, and one Evangelical.
I am grateful that I was at Lost Sheep Outreach Ministry this Monday and a young woman danced to this Psalm, and the presence of the Lord was very present, and it was like her arms and hands were radiating the love of Jesus as she danced. It was the most powerful liturgical dance I have ever seen, and I was convinced at that moment, that the Lord uses all sorts of means of His grace to draw people into His refuge. Someone can dance around a church and lift their eyes in praise to Jesus, and that act of worship can translate very well to a weary traveler. Or you can see monks in fidelity to their calling, sitting in the same place for 50 years, in abiding love to their Lord. But its the same Love, and the same Jesus at the heart of it all.
Sometimes I feel like my daughter feels God's presence when she is with her friends at Indian Princesses. This was true last year, and this Sunday I bet she will love the "torch ceremony we are doing." But ultimately, she rests in the refuge of me. I do not say that with pride. She simply loves being at Indian Princesses because she knows her dad is there, and her dad loves her, and that she can depend on that. It may sound silly, but let us not hide in our phones, our TV's, or our opinions. Let us take "refuge" in the Lord. Like our family friend, Neil Griffiths, who was there when I was in 8th grade, he continues to be a family friend when I am about to turn 40. That is a sort of "refuge."
But lastly, I do not think taking "refuge" in the Lord is something we can teach people. This is a movement of the spirit of God. God must show us, through His spirit, the way to the refuge. He has done that. Let us go to that place of His refuge.
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