In the Lord I Take Refuge - By Adam Paul

Living in our modern North American context, the word “refuge” isn’t a word we have to think about too terribly often. This is quite unique, historically speaking, as the idea of having a shelter from the dangers of the world is ubiquitous throughout history and culture. You don’t even have to go back far to the nuclear paranoia of the mid to late 20th century and the concept of a fallout shelter being a much more common notion to people’s minds. It’s almost comical to think about the fact that the term “safe space”, a reference to a place where you can be free from ridicule, is about the closest we tend to come in day to day conversation. 

Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not here to mock the idea of safe spaces. Despite my more conservative doctrinal leanings, I’m not so removed from my millennial nature that I will start tossing around their term “snowflake” to the denigration of my peers. My intent today is quite the contrary, in fact. A need for safety and shelter is universal and the contexts many and varied, and should never be thought of as greater or lesser. Comparison kills. A friend of mine from down under turned me on to the clever portmanteau of “Comparasite”, an apt term and helpful to remind ourselves of often, 

The concept of “refuge,” which always brings back to Helm’s Deep, the fortress refuge the people of Edoras flee to when pursued by an overwhelming force of Uruk Hai in the Two Towers, or the aforementioned fallout shelters in the video games turned hit TV show Fallout, was much more present to the people of Israel, and in particular King David, who was frequently besieged and set to flight by enemies of all kinds and sought many a refuge in his day. It’s probably a big reason why the book of Psalms, to which David is easily the most prolific contributor, is replete with mention of the term “refuge.”

The word refuge occurs in the Psalms something in the ballpark of 40 times (my research here was brief and a bit incomplete, but that number seems accurate enough), and in the overwhelming majority of contexts it is in reference to the Lord being a refuge for the Psalmist in times of trouble. Psalm 9, Psalm 16, Psalm 31, Psalm 46, Psalm 71 just to name a handful all speak to the Lord as a place of refuge, shelter, and strength for the weak, the oppressed, and the hurting. This through line carries into the New Testament as well. I’ve always been taken by the notion of Jesus being able to calm the storm with nothing but his words in the gospels. What greater refuge from the storms in our lives than one such as he?

I don’t know about you, but 2024 was a particularly stormy year for me. I don’t have either the desire, nor I think the necessity, to delve into the gory details on that front, but suffice it to say that as my minds eye reflects back on my year, an image of myself in ragged clothes huddled under a rock face as a violent storm rages all around me feels an appropriate image for my imagination to conjure. But even as the cold winds whipped, the rain battered, and the thunder roared in all its terrible fury, my rock and my refuge kept me sheltered, safe, and protected. It was not easy, it was not comfortable, but it was nevertheless safe. 

So whether your storm is literal or figurative, whether it’s a mild rainfall or a raging hurricane, a broken relationship or a broken down car, remember that we have a refuge in the one whose voice calmed the staging storm and waves with a word. Psalm 9:9-10: “The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. And those who know your name put their trust in you, for you, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you.”