Our Refuge (Psalm 27)

About 15 years ago, my family and I attended a family reunion at a campground in Ludlow Falls, Ohio. We were staying in small wooden cabins. A nasty storm blew through town around midnight. Then a very loud siren began to blare. Ally and I had recently watched the movie Twister, and the last place we wanted to be during a tornado was in a rickety, old, wooden cabin. We quickly gathered up our daughters in their PJs and rushed to a nearby bathroom made of cinder blocks and cement. We were joined by many of my extended family members in our bathroom refuge, soaking wet and in our PJs. It was quite a scene – the sirens kept blaring, and we were bracing for what felt like an inevitable storm. All we could do was wait and pray. 

Then, the camp director came to the shelter and told us we could head back to our cabins; there was no threat of a tornado. He said the sirens were just the way the community called their volunteer fire department! He affirmed our disaster awareness, and we all crawled back to our cabins…soaking wet. Perhaps today you feel like you are in a different kind of storm, some type of threat, or challenge that feels frightening, and it feels like pain is imminent. Where do you turn when that happens? 

King David wrote in Psalm 27, “The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” What a wonderful statement and a wonderful psalm from David! He had plenty of “storms” in his life, but he chose to find shelter in the stronghold of God. He uses rich imagery in this psalm of being held and protected, defended and saved by the Lord. He closes with words to live by: “I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living! Wait for the Lord; be strong and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!” (Psalm 27:13-14 ESV) This is a beautiful and powerful way to live…in the fortress of our God. What a wonderful reminder for us today that whatever storms life throws at you, He can be your refuge!

Expectantly,

Shawn