Isaiah 4:6 NIrV
It will cover the people and give them shade from the hot sun all day long. It will be a safe place where they can hide from storms and rain.
A refuge is a place, a person or a situation providing safety or shelter for others. The world can be a dangerous place, but the bible talks about how God can be our refuge. David knew God intimately as his shelter and refuge. Do you?
God Himself made the idea of a refuge important by having Moses establish “cities of refuge which Joshua instigated in Joshua 20:1-3.” Oppression and trouble are not pleasant things to encounter but it is natural things in this life. Nevertheless, we do experience them every day of our lives.
Oppression keeps us down and hinders our ability to grow to be all we were meant to be. Trouble harasses and inconveniences us and causes worry to creep into our lives. Oppression and trouble try their best to keep us from enjoying our days.
A small dose of either can send us into a tailspin. We need a solution—a solution that can give us hope—a solution that can come against oppression and give us protection in times of trouble. The psalms declare that the Lord is the solution to every life trouble. Knowing God means understanding, declaring, proclaiming, and confessing who He is and what He does.
It means discovering more and more the grandeur, the glory, and the unshakable foundation of his character.
As the Lord protected the children of Israel with a cloud by day and fire by night, He offers us protection from the day’s heat and a hiding place from the stormy rain.
As we get to know God, it becomes easier to trust Him more and search for Him in times of trouble as our shelter and refuge. The Lord is our shelter and refuge from every storm. He has never abandoned anyone who sought him, and he will never abandon you! When anyone decides to follow Jesus, they receive the eternal refuge of God.
This refuge is called salvation in Romans 10:9. It is through the refuge of salvation that we are rescued from the dangerous kingdom of darkness of the enemy and brought into the protection of the kingdom of light.
Psalm 91 tells us how God gives protection to those who belong to him in many ways, anyone who by faith chooses God for their protector and protection, will find all they need in Him. And those who have found the comfort of making the Lord their refuge, cannot but desire that others may do so. We find the refuge of hope amid difficult times. “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose,” and sees Him as their shelter and refuge. Romans 8:28. The only place we can find complete and lasting refuge is with and in the Lord.
The shelter that He provides extends far beyond the physical. We don’t have to pay, bribe or cajole the Lord to protect us, regardless of what’s going on around us, we can still always find shelter with Him because God is our holy security that is grounded on Divine support. God is always a refuge to them that need Him and will shelter them from the storm.
Trust Him!
Shalom