The Lord is my refuge

It's true, isn't it, that MOST of the time MOST of you reading this blog are safe...with almost everything you REALLY need to get through the next hour.

Oh, sure, there are desires and wishes for this or that which would make life "nice" or a bit more exciting. So perhaps you don't think you have everything... and you may be choosing to eat or drink substances that aren't really in the best interests of lasting safety for your body.... so maybe you are actually compromising your own safety.

When we find ourselves running for safety, it is when we are aware of something dangerous or traumatic...something that is coming AT us.... we look for a life line or a secure grip...or we try to find safe footing or a storm shelter. We stay in the safe place until we are fairly sure that whatever was going on "out there" is no longer a threat.

Safety is good, to be sure! It is a place to which our body may run with fervor! But it may not be a place that is very personalized....not like a refuge... Another difference, perhaps, is that going to safety may be reactive...while entering refuge can is proactive.

Safety is good for the body...refuge is critical for my soul.

Psalm 91:9-16
Because you have made the LORD your refuge, the Most High your dwelling place,
no evil shall befall you, no scourge come near your tent.

For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways.
On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.

You will tread on the lion and the adder, the young lion and the serpent you will trample under foot. Those who love me, I will deliver; I will protect those who know my name.

When they call to me, I will answer them; I will be with them in trouble, I will rescue them and honor them. With long life I will satisfy them, and show them my salvation.

Refuge conveys a feeling of a set apart place... a haven or sanctuary to which I can go at all times....not just when I am in distress. It is a place that does more than relieve me from danger.... a refuge welcomes me and nourishes me...it is a place of refreshment and renewal...it is where I can go and be relieved of any concern.. More than that, though, a refuge is a place where I can set aside ALL that diverts or distracts me from simply "being" at rest in the refuge.

Just as advocates for wildlife set acres apart for "Nature Refuge" ... there is a state of being (a place apart) that has been set aside by my soul's most sure advocate... Every moment I pray, or whisper words of invocation, I melt into the presence of God....I enter my refuge.