Refuge

Deuteronomy 33:27 says, "The eternal God is your refuge, and His everlasting arms are under you." Doesn't that paint such a beautiful picture for you? It does for me. Having grown up without a good father figure, I often picture myself with Jesus, doing "fatherly" things. I will close my eyes during worship and picture myself curled up in Jesus' lap, as my girls do with my husband. I just imagine that to be the most peaceful, safest place of refuge anyone could ever experience!

The word "refuge" can be translated "mansion" or "abiding place," which makes us think of our home. Well, I guess "mansion" is not the first word that comes to my mind when I think of home, but abiding place sure does! Although, our new home is a mansion to us. The Lord did a miracle for us over the summer and blessed us with a home that literally goes above and beyond all we could have ever asked for or thought for ourselves. It was as if God jumped right into our hearts and pulled out every last little desire for a house that we had so deep in our hearts, and just went "Voila!" The way the Lord worked all the details out, well, it's nothing short of a miracle.

That being said, we love being home. It truly is our "refuge." There is something to be said for the statement of Dorothy that cries out, "There is no place like home." I've been different places and thought to myself, oh how I wish I had on some ruby red slippers because I just want to go home! No place like it. Even when the girls are fighting and/or playing really loud, there is still such a peace in the house, a peace that I did not have in any home growing up. I'm so glad my girls get to live in a peaceful environment, one where mom & dad love each other, have fun together; a home where there is no fighting and shouting...just a refuge.

Home is a place of comfort. In our home, we pretty much always where our "cozies." As soon as we walk in the door, if we don't have plans to leave the house again, (and who am I kidding, even if I do have plans to leave again) off go the outside clothes and on go the cozies. We save loads of money in dry cleaning this way! But it's just cozy! You put on some cozy jammie pants and a shirt...nowadays you gotta throw on the sweatshirt too, but still, cozy. Our girls can always tell when Joey has somewhere to go and they plead for him to get on his cozies!

Home is a place of safety. It's a place of comfort. It's a place of rest, of peace, of joy. So if that is our earthly refuge from the outside world, how much more of a refuge is the Lord? He is our shelter and our retreat; He is our abiding refuge. As psalm 23 tells us, we can fear no evil when we are abiding in our refuge.

At home we let our guard down don't we? We just let loose and feel the freedom to relax without fear of anyone misconstruing our words or taking something the way it was not intended. We just are free. How much more free can we be with the Lord? That we could speak our hearts cry out to Him, knowing that He won't take our words out of context; He won't judge us for what we say or think. He knows the very deep recess' of our heart already, so we can take refuge in that...we can just be free.

I read this today by Spurgeon:

"Home is the place of our truest and purest happiness. It is in God that our hearts find their deepest delight. We have joy in Him that far surpasses all other joy. It is also for home that we work and labor. The thought of it gives strength to bear the daily burdens and quickens the fingers to perform the task; in this sense, we may also say that God is our home. Love for Him strengthens us. We think of Him in the person of His dear Son, and a glimpse of the suffering face of the Redeemer constrains us to labor in His cause."

Take a moment today to thank God for the refuge that He provides for us; a refuge from the craziness of the world; a refuge from the fear & worry that so quickly try to beset us. I love Jesus. And He loves me. And if home is where the heart is, then I'm relaxing for just a little while longer...