Refuge

One of the great blessings that comes with faith in Jesus is knowing that God doesn't change.  Knowledge of God doesn't come to us automatically but it is something that we begin to learn as we spend time reading our Bibles, spend time in prayer with God, and hear God's word preached and taught. 

This morning I was reading Psalm 36 and in the heart of the Psalm are these words:

How precious is your steadfast love, O God?

The children of mankind take refuge in the shadow of your wings.

They feast on the abundance of your house

    and you give them drink from the river of your delights.

For with you is the fountain of life;

in your light do we see light.

In the past few weeks I have made a number of trips to hospitals in Farmington and Albuquerque.  As a pastor I have spent time with people from our community who are going through some very hard times.  Some of those people I know well and others I have only met for the first time when I visited them.

I sit with them and their families and hear their stories.  Sometimes I read some scripture with them.  Some of these people are members of our church and others are friends or relatives of members.  I am a pastor, but not always their pastor, so I offer to read from my Bible and let them make the decision.  And I have always prayed with them.

Like reading from the Bible, I always ask, but no one has declined.  And in those moments of prayer I usually find myself  beginning with words like those in the Psalm above.  Being in the hospital is the kind of circumstance which brings to mind the fact that while our situation may be difficult, that there is much that seems wrong and out of place, we can turn towards God and trust that He is in full knowledge and control of what is going on.

We come to Him in prayer, knowing that His love is both steadfast and a place of refuge.  God's love for His children  is fixed.  It is firm.  It is unwavering.  And it is a place where we can come to find shelter, protection and safety.

In these recent trips to the hospital I have seen the storms of life raging.  And it has been my privilege to call on the precious and steadfast love of God to hold and carry His children through the storm. 

May you know this precious and unfailing love, this place of refuge, in your life today.

Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.