Our Refuge
by Bernard Kariuki
Have you ever seen a child who thinks they’re in ‘danger’? How desperately they run crying, calling “mama”. When they get to mama, they hold her tight and then get courage to give a glance to whatever was posing ‘danger’ to them, knowing they’re safe in the presence of their mom.
God had instructed Moses to build cities of refuge (Deuteronomy 19), and then Joshua implemented this (Joshua 20). These cities provided refuge for the innocent people whose lives were in danger of death as they were being pursued by their ‘enemy’. As long as they remained in the city of refuge, they were safe, and nobody would harm their life. But if they were caught before reaching the refuge city then their enemy had the right to kill them.
The bible says that the name of the Lord is a strong tower, and the righteous run into it and they’re saved. Thank God for that. We don’t need to literally run for dear life to a city. We’d have to make so many runs. Maybe we wouldn’t make it to the refuge city, due to exhaustion. All we need to do is just call on His name and we’re safe. That’s running to Him first, before all else, and pouring everything out to Him, like children running for safety.
It sounds so simple that we tend to complicate things by trying to solve our problems ourselves. Then we get in a muddle and create more mess before running to the Lord for refuge. We try to create a place of refuge ourselves.
David says, in Psalm 46, that ‘God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble. So we will not fear when earthquakes come and the mountains crumble into the sea’.
What seems to be ‘crumbling’ before you today? What sort of ‘earthquakes’ are shaking your life at the moment? In Romans 10:13, we’re reminded that ‘whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved’. Go ahead. Abandon all. Call His name. He’s your refuge, and He promises to be right there to protect you from every danger, and strengthen you.
Once I saw a video of a church which literally called on the name of Jesus, as a tornado headed their way. They called on Him, knowing life depended on it. You could feel the Lord’s presence in the atmosphere. Then the unimaginable happened. The tornado vanished right before their eyes. Brothers and sisters, that’s our God. That’s the Lord we serve. Hallelujah!
Stop fighting a war that doesn’t belong to you. Let Him take over, for the battle belongs to Him. Don’t try to fight your enemy who’s trying to get revenge on you. Just run to your refuge.
Deuteronomy 4:7 says ‘For what great nation has a god as near to them as the LORD our God is near to us whenever we call on him?’ So, let’s call on Him in whatever situation we’re facing, and trust Him in everything.
Prayer: Thank You, Lord, for You really care about our safety and we don’t need to literally run to a place of refuge. We just need to call on Your name and You show up. Lord, I’m calling on Your name now. Come and rescue me. Show up in my situation, and be my strength. I surrender all to You, through the name of Your Son, Jesus Christ. Amen.
Bernard Kariuki is from Kenya, and married to Yulia from Russia. They met in Ellel Ministries and served together for many years at both Ellel Scotland and Ellel Grange. Bernard has the desire to share the Word of God with young people, for he desires to see young people walking in holy fear of the Lord.
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