Hello Everyone!
This post on our series about "Protection" is about refuge.
What are the first things that pop into
when you hear the word "refuge"?...
- shelter
- sanctuary
- hide-a-way
- rock
- safe haven
- escape
- stronghold
- retreat
- security
states have had snow or a dusting of snow this winter ~ WOW!)
we may have felt as though our home was our refuge.
We snuggled down in our blankets and kept toasty warm.
I've been on Google Images again...
Here is what I found when I typed in "refuge" or "refuge in the storm">>>
Here is what I found when I typed in "refuge" or "refuge in the storm">>>
(if you look real close...that is a fortress/castle on top of the waterfall...
...interesting...)
(beautiful colors, don't you think?)
(i like the light shining through the windows and the fact that the church...
has no destruction...)
Another form of a refuge could be the enfolding of a loved one's arms around
you in the form of a shelter ~ a comforting hug:
you in the form of a shelter ~ a comforting hug:
Sometimes I have felt that my car was a refuge, when it was pouring down
rain...
and I was safe and dry inside.
Sometimes our umbrellas could be a kinda-sorta of a form of
a refuge or
a protection:
(the one lone guy doesn't seem to be having fun...)
I had to include this picture.
Have you ever been caught in a down-pour during a picnic?
These poor people are trying to find a refuge:
On a little more serious note,
Susannah Wesley
who lived from 1669 to 1742,
had 19 children, but 9 died as infants. (how horrible that would be to live through.)
She was a very successful mother, with 2 of her children being
Charles and John Wesley.
Charles wrote over 9,000. hymns. He and his brother, John, are largely credited
with the founding of the English Methodist church.
I found a blog which lists the TOP 10 reasons why we should study Susannah's life.
Click here to view the list.
Susannah made her own refuge.
Here is reason #9:
Have you ever been caught in a down-pour during a picnic?
These poor people are trying to find a refuge:
On a little more serious note,
Susannah Wesley
who lived from 1669 to 1742,
had 19 children, but 9 died as infants. (how horrible that would be to live through.)
She was a very successful mother, with 2 of her children being
Charles and John Wesley.
Charles wrote over 9,000. hymns. He and his brother, John, are largely credited
with the founding of the English Methodist church.
I found a blog which lists the TOP 10 reasons why we should study Susannah's life.
Click here to view the list.
Susannah made her own refuge.
Here is reason #9:
9. Susannah made time to pray.
Susannah Wesley prayed two hours a day. She organized her children so this could be accomplished. She had a system by which they would take care of each other, and this was the root of Methodism. (In the beginning, what distinguished Methodists was their system). John and Charles, as little boys, just watched their mom. If she couldn’t find a room to retreat to, they watched her flip her apron up over her head and pray.
She made her own refuge in amongst the 10 children!
What mentoring...what modeling!
This reminded of something that Andrea, a dear sister-in-the-Lord told me
about the talith or prayer shawl that the Jewish men use as their refuge.
Prayer Closet
TALITH contains two Hebrew words; TAL meaning tent and ITH meaning little. Thus, you have LITTLE TENT. Each man had his own little tent. Six million Jews could not fit into the tent of meeting that was set up in the Old Testament. Therefore, what was given to them was their own private sanctuary where they could meet with God. Each man had one! His Prayer Shawl or Talith. They would pull it up over their head, forming a tent, where they would begin to chant and sing their Hebrew songs, and call upon God. It was intimate, private, and set apart from anyone else -- enabling them to totally focus upon God. This was their prayer closet!
Here is the link for more information regarding the talith.
All of this leads us to the FACT that God is our refuge, a very present help in time of
trouble. (Psalm 46:1)
The word "refuge" appears 93 times in 90 verses in the New International Version!!
W.O.W. ~ that should tell us something!
"But let all who take refuge in you be glad; let them ever sing for joy. Spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may rejoice in you." – Psalm 5:11
"The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble." – Psalm 9:9
"The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold." – Psalm 18:2
"As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the Lord is flawless. He is a shield for all who take refuge in him." – Psalm 18:30
"Guard my life and rescue me; let me not be put to shame, for I take refuge in you." Psalm 25:20
"Turn your ear to me, come quickly to my rescue; be my rock of refuge, a strong fortress to save me." Psalm 31:2
"My salvation and my honor depend on God; he is my mighty rock, my refuge." Psalm 62:7
You may see that the words rock and refuge go together quite often.
Why do you think this is?
The Hebrew word for rock is "tsuwr".
Two of its meanings are strength and strong.
When you need a refuge, you want something or Someone Who is strong.
You don't want some mammy pamby person who will not fight for you,
who will not defend you, who will not stand up for you.
You want a Rock to lean on...somewhere you feel safe.
(this would be a refuge/prayer closet!)
I invite your ideas on the rock/refuge connection.
I know that Jesus is portrayed as our Rock in the Old Testament,
especially in Exodus 17:6 ~
"'I will stand there before you by the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it for the people to drink.' So Moses did this in the sight of the elders of Israel."
This was the foreshadowing of Jesus being struck and beaten before his death
on the cross...
Any other ideas of why refuge and rock are so closely related?
Until the next post,
God is our refuge and God is our strength; a very present help in trouble,
Debbie G.
I invite your ideas on the rock/refuge connection.
I know that Jesus is portrayed as our Rock in the Old Testament,
especially in Exodus 17:6 ~
"'I will stand there before you by the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it for the people to drink.' So Moses did this in the sight of the elders of Israel."
This was the foreshadowing of Jesus being struck and beaten before his death
on the cross...
Any other ideas of why refuge and rock are so closely related?
Until the next post,
God is our refuge and God is our strength; a very present help in trouble,
Debbie G.
Hi Debbie,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed the video and all the pictures showing the different places of refuge. The church is my favorite too. Even though the storm is raging all around there seems to be peace in the valley where the church is. The lights in the windows make it look like a safe haven or refuge from the storm. That is what God is to us.
I had heard that story before about a mother putting her apron over her head to have her quiet time with God but I didn't know about Susannah Wesley and her having 19 children.
The information about the word talith meaning little tent was very interesting and so was all the scriptures in psalms about God being our refuge and rock.
When I looked in my concordance, in my bible, I saw that there are scriptures in the New Testament about God being the rock. Matthew 7:24 tells the story about how the wise man built his house on the rock, which represents Christ, and the foolish man built his house on the sand. Also Matthew 16:18 tells how Jesus told Peter that on this rock I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I Corinthians 10:4 says they drank from the spiritual rock and that rock was Christ. There are more scriptures that show that God is our refuge and rock.
Love you,
Darlene
I really enjoyed this devotion, Mrs. Deb. Praise the Lord for the shelter he provides for us! I do believe I will be singing, "The Name of the Lord is a strong tower..." for the rest of the day!
ReplyDeleteAmen! Mrs. Carmen!
ReplyDeleteWe miss you all. Plz say hello to everyone!
Mrs. Deb
Hi Darlene!
ReplyDeleteTYSM for your wonderful reply!
The Scriptures on the Rock were "right on"!
I did some reading in a bookmarked site I have called "Dictionary of Biblical Imagery". Here is the address to that site, if anyone is interested: http://books.google.com/books?id=qjEYEjVVEosC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Deut.+32:11&source=gbs_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q=rock&f=false
Word of warning, though. Not ALL the pages are represented of this book, but most of them are.
This book said that: "Positively, stone is strong and seems, at least from the vantage point of human life span, unaffected by time. This makes it suitable to bear God's words. The water-from-rock incidents (in the Bible)is shown that God can supply His people's needs in the hardest of places." (!! PTL !!)
–Debbie