God is our refuge
GOD IS OUR REFUGE PART 1
This last summer (July 2024), my husband and I went on a tour of Northumbria, which includes portions of northern England and southern Scotland. On the trip we toured quite a few castles. Some were still intact and some were in ruins. We heard the history of the region, which was a history of constant struggle. There were conflicts between England and Scotland, Scotland and the Romans, Scotland and England against the Vikings, and clan against clan. The castles were places of refuge and security that the surrounding peoples could go to in time of trouble. They had many security features built into them.
Despite all the best defensive designs and battle preparations, the castles changed hands frequently. Many of the castles are in ruins. The ruins are a testament to the temporal and insufficient nature of their defense. One such defeated fortress was the Babylonian empire capital. Babylon had an almost impregnable fortress city with very high and thick walls. And yet the city was rather easily captured by the Medo-Persians who had a brilliant strategy of diverting the Euphrates river, so that the army could march into the city even while the inhabitants blindly trusted in their city’s defensive walls. The inhabitants felt so safe that they failed to watch and be ready for the Medo- Persian invaders. As we know from Daniel 4, the officials of the city were having a great party while the Medo-Persian army was approaching. But while amazingly human designed and built castles can be defeated, the defense that we have in our God is impregnable and everlasting. It will never fail. Human refuges and strongholds are but a weak picture of the greater reality of the incredible refuge and fortress that we have in God.
The Bible uses the imagery of fortresses, refuges and strongholds to help us understand the resources we have in the true God. I started a word study of where these words appear in the Bible: Stronghold, high tower, refuge, strength, fortress, shield, shelter, rock, hiding place and defense. I am not sure I could ever compile an exhaustive list of such references in the Bible. They are very numerous. God clearly wants us to understand that we should view Him as our refuge.
I am going to lead you through a series of blogs on God as our refuge. I will cover different passages, highlight some of those words, and tell of the experiences of saints throughout history who found God to be their refuge. My goal is to encourage you to find your refuge in God. Throughout my life, God has proven to be a wonderful refuge and source of strength. This trust has been tried over the last couple of years as I am going through the most difficult trial I have ever gone through. Yet God has still been faithful to be my refuge and strength. His word is true! You can depend on Him.
Many of the refuge words appear in psalms written by David who faced many foes throughout his life. He knew well what a human stronghold, refuge, rock, hiding place and fortress meant to the soldier. But the superior refuge he found was in God. Here are a few verses I want to share to start our thinking on this subject:
Psalm 18:1-3 “I love You, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock, and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge; my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised, and I am saved from my enemies.”
Psalm 62:5-7 “My soul, wait in silence for God only, for my hope is from Him. He only is my rock and my salvation, my stronghold; I shall not be shaken. On God my salvation and my glory rest; the rock of my strength, my refuge is in God.”
Psalm 32:7 “You are my hiding place; You preserve me from trouble; You surround me with songs of deliverance.”
Psalm 91:1-2 “He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the Lord, ‘My refuge and my fortress, my God in whom I trust!’”
Why do we need a refuge? Here are 2 reasons.
1. We need a refuge from the consequences of our sin, which is disobedience to God’s law. We need a refuge from the wrath of God. We are all sinners, who are dead in our sin and under the just wrath of God for our sin. Our future is hell until we find a refuge from God’s wrath by believing in Christ’s atoning work at the cross. Romans 5:8-9 “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him.” This refuge we have in Christ is impervious to any opposition. Hebrews 6:17-19 “In the same way, God, desiring even more to show to the heirs of the promise the unchangeableness of His purpose, interposed with an oath, in order that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we may have strong encouragement, we who have fled for refuge in laying hold of the hope set before us. This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast and one which enters within the veil.”
2. In this world we will have trouble. We are in a battle against Satan, sorrows of life, battles against our own sinful nature, and against the world that hates us and our Savior. Ephesians 6:10-18 tells us to put on the armor of God so that we can stand firm against the schemes of the devil. In John 16:33b Jesus tells us “In the world you have tribulation, but take courage, I have overcome the world.” We not only have a defense and a refuge in this difficult life, but we look forward with confidence to the day when “the kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord, and of His Christ; and He will reign forever and ever.” (Revelations11:15b) One day God will make all things right. In the meantime, He is our rock and our help and our fortress to sustain us victoriously through life’s battles and sorrows. Psalm 27:1-3 “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the defense of my life; whom shall I dread? When evildoers came upon me to devour my flesh, my adversaries and my enemies, they stumbled and fell. Though a host encamp against me, my heart will not fear; though war arise against me, in spite of this I shall be confident.”
The saints throughout the centuries who trusted in God through the difficulties of life have left many testimonies that God has been their refuge, their strength, their stronghold, their defense, and their fortress. They were able to live with joy and victory because of their trust in God that enabled them to experience the goodness and greatness of God. I have experienced it also, though in less dire circumstances. In the next blog in this series, I will focus on God as our hiding place and highlight the testimony of Corrie Ten Boom. May we grow in our dependence on this refuge through this blog series, and through our daily walk with the Lord.
Verses to memorize in response: Psalm 18:1-3
Song to sing in worship as you embrace God as refuge: I Set My Hope (Hymn for a Deconstructing Friend) - Keith & Kristyn Getty, Matt Boswell, Matt Papa
Email me at candice_anastasi@hotmail.com