Storm Christoph has been raging in our area this week, with heavy rain bringing flooding to some areas and strong, gusty winds adding to the rather miserable January weather which is often a feature of winter. It has made me realise that sometimes taking refuge indoors from the storm is not a bad idea, and Jesus’s words about strong foundations (Matt 7:24-27) have taken on new relevance at this time.
Ps 2:12 tells us that ‘blessed are all who take refuge in Him’, and the idea of God as our refuge is one found 43 times in the Psalms, perhaps most famously in Ps 46:1, which says ‘God is our refuge and strength, an ever present help in trouble.’
Other psalms talk of God as a refuge, rock, fortress, shield and stronghold (Ps 18:2) and remind us that it is better to take refuge in God than to trust in humans. (Ps 118:8) At this time of lockdown, when we may feel that ‘Storm Coronavirus’ is raging even more fiercely than Storm Christoph, we may feel helpless and hopeless, unsure what to do and how to respond. As we make God our refuge, hide ourselves in Him and put our hope in His word (Ps 119:114), we are not simply being passive; we are actively shielding in God until the disaster has passed. (Ps 57:1) God will protect us and deliver us as we trust in Him, enabling us to sing and be glad even in these hard times. (Ps 5:11, Ps 59:16)
