Last fall I experienced a betrayal that caused me to feel instantly insecure and unsafe. It was the kind of betrayal that reorients months of lived experience to figure out what was true and what was not. When this happened I instantly needed a safe place to land. I needed a place to experience hope, to be grounded in trust and a place where I felt safe and secure. I needed a hiding place.
There are many words for “refuge” in the Hebrew language; each word holding a deeper and broader vision of refuge, helping us to expand our understanding of what it means that God is our refuge. Here are the various words that accompany the Hebrew words for refuge: to trust, have hope, shelter, escape, flight, way to flee, den, place, dwelling place, defense, high tower and high fort. Each of these words is a picture of the type of refuge God is.
When God is something, this is not only a part of knowing who God is and what God is like, but also an invitation to receive God as the source. So far we have experienced God as good, kind, beautiful, father, nourishment, mercy, abundance, and comfort. Now, we experience God as refuge. Not only does God hold these attributes, God embodies them and is our source.
God is our source of goodness, kindness, beauty, fathering, nourishment, mercy, abundance, comfort and he is our source of refuge. We hide ourselves in God. God is our respite, the source of security, our den, dwelling place, defense. God is our high tower, shelter, hope and the one in whom we put our trust.
Augustus Toplady wrote these words in his hymn Rock of Ages:
“While I draw this fleeting breath,
When my eyes shall close in death,
When I rise to worlds unknown,
And behold Thee on Thy throne,
Rock of Ages, cleft for me,
Let me hide myself in Thee.”
Let me hide myself in Thee. This is the cry of one who has sourced herself, sourced himself, with God as refuge.
In the months following the betrayal I found that God was the source of my refuge. I could hide away in God’s strength, courage, shelter and God, who is trustworthy, was the one in whom I put my trust. In the midst of betrayal, I experienced God’s refuge. In life, we need refuge, when we listen to the news we need refuge, when we experience loss or pain we need refuge. Let us hide ourselves in the very source of that refuge, Jesus.
THE PATH — PRACTICES IN NOTICING
PRACTICE PERSONALLY
Read Psalm 57 and re-write the Psalm in your own words. Use the Psalm as a template for prayer in the midst of difficult circumstances.
For the director of music. To the tune of “Do Not Destroy.” Of David. A miktam.[b] When he had fled from Saul into the cave.
1 Have mercy on me, my God, have mercy on me, for in you I take refuge. I will take refuge in the shadow of your wings until the disaster has passed.
What do you need from God?
Proclaim God is your refuge.
What is an image or a picture that you associate with God being your refuge?
2 I cry out to God Most High, to God, who vindicates me. 3 He sends from heaven and saves me,
What is your cry to God?
Who is God to you?
rebuking those who hotly pursue me—[c] God sends forth his love and his faithfulness.
4 I am in the midst of lions; I am forced to dwell among ravenous beasts— men whose teeth are spears and arrows, whose tongues are sharp swords.
What is the situation you are facing?
What metaphor accompanies the situation?
5 Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; let your glory be over all the earth.
Praise God for who God is and what God is like.
6 They spread a net for my feet— I was bowed down in distress. They dug a pit in my path— but they have fallen into it themselves.
What does the evil intent feel like?
What is the situation you are in seeking to do to you?
7 My heart, O God, is steadfast, my heart is steadfast; I will sing and make music.
What is true of your heart when you take refuge in God?
8 Awake, my soul! Awake, harp and lyre! I will awaken the dawn.
What is the cry of your heart and its intention?
9 I will praise you, Lord, among the nations; I will sing of you among the peoples. 10 For great is your love, reaching to the heavens; your faithfulness reaches to the skies.
11 Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; let your glory be over all the earth.
Thank God, proclaiming God’s goodness both experienced and longed for and praise God for the promise of God’s name.
PRACTICE COMMUNALLY
- Share stories of times where you were in a scary situation and you found a place that felt safe. What does safety feel like?
- Describe refuge.
- Talk together about situations in life where you might need a refuge. Name the various circumstances where you have a need for refuge daily.
- Read Psalm 57 together, imagine how you could experience God as refuge together.
- Use the Psalm to write a prayer that you can revisit when you are in need of a safe place to land.
PRACTICE WITH CHILDREN
- Make a fort together. Hide in the fort and talk about what it feels like to be hidden safe together.
- Read Psalm 57 together. Ask: what do you think it means that God is your refuge?
- Draw pictures together of someone hiding in a safe place. Have everyone share and describe their picture. Read Psalm 57 together and talk about experiencing God as refuge.
- Tell stories of times you were in a scary situation and you found a place that felt safe. What does safety feel like? Describe refuge. Talk together about situations in life where you might need a refuge socially. Read Psalm 57 together, imagine how you could experience God as refuge.
Cari Jenkins
Teaching Team