In my life, I have very often had to take refuge in the Lord. The world around me felt heavy and threatening. Setback after setback made me doubt; were the things I was doing still the things the Lord was asking of me?
Was I still on the right path, or was I just muddling through?
How often do we tell ourselves that the things we do are blessed by God? After all, we are doing well, aren’t we… in our family, in church, in our studies, at work? But why then do we not feel happy? Why does everything always go wrong?
When things happen in my life that make me doubt myself, I take refuge in my Father. For my greatest desire is to serve Him and to share the gospel with others. Doubting myself means that I, in a worried way, doubt my calling.
Am I good enough to serve Him?
I go to take refuge with my Father so that I can hear His voice again. For then I know again who I am and what I live for.
King David often took refuge from his adversaries and wrote many songs about it. He felt that taking refuge was not just a way to hide from that big, scary world, but rather a way to seek contact with God.
In the silence of the hiding place, David found his Lord.
But how should I take refuge with the Lord God?
How am I going to manage that if I also have to take care of everyone, have to work… all those demands of daily life pulling at me. Surely I can’t, literally, just go sit somewhere and hide until I feel better again?
I have learned that I can still take refuge with my Father in a number of ways:
- I make the decision to create as much silence as possible in my daily life for a certain period by, for example, not playing music in the car and not making phone calls. Just being quiet while on the road. But even when I am at home, I don’t immediately turn on the computer or TV… I go about my business quietly in the
silence and take refuge, in my mind and heart, with the Lord. With Him, I find the peace I need.
- I make the decision to go to bed early or get up very early for a certain period so that I can read the Bible alone and in silence. I try to reflect on what the Bible shows me… I take refuge with the Lord by seeking contact with Him by studying His Word.
- I make the decision to start and end the day for a certain period by singing to Him. I praise Him, I show how much I love Him and feel that I am in contact with my Savior. I allow my emotions; I may cry, I may feel frustrated, I may feel gloomy… I sing it all to Him.
Workbook
How often do you feel the need to take refuge in God?
In this chapter, I have provided three possible ways to take refuge in God. Perhaps you would like to choose a method and practice it for a few days? You can apply the exercise to your way of life and therefore make small adjustments so that it works for you.
You can write down how it went every day; then, after the practice period, you will have a kind of report that you can read back.
Optionally, you could also try a different way of taking refuge for a few days…
It is a challenge to learn not to try to find your safety with other people in the first instance, but rather with God.