God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling.
Selah (Ps. 46:1-3 ESV).
Lord, thank You that I can take refuge under Your wings
Father, You give us this beautiful picture throughout Your Word. With every bird I see this week, please remind me that You are my safe refuge. Under Your wings, I am held close to Your loving heart. Your wings are soft, secure, strong, sheltering, warm, and even waterproof during the storms of this life. I’m so much like a helpless, fragile, and needy baby bird. But Father, You know this, so You’ve given me birds as reminders of what You’re doing for me, right now.
How precious is your steadfast love, O God! The children of mankind take refuge in the shadow of your wings (Ps. 36:7 ESV).
The LORD is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; he knows those who take refuge in him (Nahum 1:7 ESV).
“When through the deep waters I call you to go, the rivers of sorrow shall not overflow;
for I will be with you, your troubles to bless, and sanctify to you your deepest distress.”
(“How Firm a Foundation,” K., 1787)
Lord, thank You that You are my refuge
Everlasting God, Your character and attributes mean You are the refuge for me. Because of who You are, unchanging in Your essence, I know I’m safe and secure in Your protection and all-sufficient grace to endure this hard trial. Help me to rest there, trusting in who You are as my loving, faithful, and always-good Father. You shelter me, not always from troubles in this sinful and fallen world, but You cocoon and hold me close as I go through them, always fulfilling Your best purposes for me.
The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me; your steadfast love, O Lord, endures forever (Ps. 138:8 ESV).
“When through fiery trials your pathway shall lie, my grace, all-sufficient, shall be your supply; the flame shall not hurt you; I only design your dross to consume and your gold to refine.“
Lord, I praise You that I can take refuge in the salvation You’ve given to me
Lord, You’ve told us to “take the helmet of salvation” as a battle tool (Eph. 6:17) or the “hope of salvation…for a helmet” (1 Thess. 5:8) when the storms rage. Please help me to remember, to flee back to the person and work of Jesus Christ…for me! Help me to take refuge in Your gift of salvation when the lying enemy attacks my thoughts. Fill my mind with what is true, with my gospel hope in Christ as Your beloved child! It is a firm and sure foundation!
so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie,
we who have fled for refuge
might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us.
We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul,
a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek (Heb. 6:18-20 ESV).
“The soul that on Jesus has leaned for repose,
I will not, I will not desert to his foes;
that soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake, I’ll never, no never, no never forsake.”
He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ (Philippians 1:6 ESV, emphasis added).
Lord, You are my refuge. Help me to abide and rest in You as the storms surround me
“Fear not, I am with you, O be not dismayed; for I am your God, and will still give you aid;
I’ll strengthen you, help you, and cause you to stand, upheld by my righteous, omnipotent hand.”
Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me (Jn. 15:4 ESV).
He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty (Ps. 91:1 ESV, emphasis added).
How firm a foundation, you saints of the Lord, is laid for your faith in his excellent Word! What more can he say than to you he has said, to you who for refuge to Jesus have fled?
Lord, help me to pray and sing to You…in order to take refuge in You with deepened trust
Trust in him
at all times, O people;
pour out your heart before him;
God is a refuge for us. Selah (Ps. 62:8 ESV).
For you have been a stronghold to the poor, a stronghold to the needy in his distress, a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat (Is. 25:4 ESV).
The Lord roars from Zion, and utters his voice from Jerusalem, and the heavens and the earth quake. But the Lord is a refuge to his people (Joel 3:16 ESV).
But let all who take refuge in you rejoice; let them ever sing for joy, and spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may exult in you (Ps. 5:11 ESV).
In the name of Jesus, who is my refuge, my salvation, my hope. Amen.
Material adapted from Near to God: A Devotional Bible Study of God’s Character in Our Suffering, Lauri A. Hogle. Copyright © 2022, Singing Christ’s Hope.
A playlist to refuge under His wing, into our suffering
I’m fleeing to Jesus this week, in song, just as the Lord exhorts me to do in His Word. I’m singing of the firm foundation of faith that He’s given to me by Jesus Christ’s perfect and sinless life, death, and victorious resurrection…for me, as His beloved. I’m singing that He is with me, sheltering me safely under His wing during the raging storms.
I’m singing Christ’s hope into my suffering.
Would you like to interrupt your suffering with Scriptural music also? Based on my life’s work as a music therapist, church music director, and educator, I’ve curated a “Lord, You are my refuge” playlist for us to use. I sang it into tears last week and it was such a gift from God to my weary heart and body!
If you’d like to receive my playlist gifts in your email each week, sign up here and I will share them with you, with much prayer that they encourage your suffering heart as He encourages mine. God bless you, sister in Christ.
