But the Lord has become my fortress, and my God the rock in whom I take refuge. (Ps. 94:22)
I TRULY ENJOYED FATHERHOOD when I became a refuge for my daughter. I’d often shielded Maggie from her brother’s barrage of snowballs or water balloons. But a few weeks from her high school graduation, she met me ashen-faced and whispered that one of her best friends had suddenly passed away. I held her and did my best to shield her from waves of grief and doubt as she worked through the initial shock, but it wasn’t enough. As we talked, we both knew she would have to experience what it was to find refuge in God. No one else would do. Maggie was already scheduled for a summer-long mission journey to Uganda to work with child soldiers and their families. She made time to find out what it would mean for her as a young adult to make God her refuge.
The psalmist says it is a choice to make God your refuge. The choice often comes when the circumstances around us seem hopeless, yet the choice is one key to successful living. Sometimes the biggest successes are personal events that constitute a step forward in faith. They begin with knowing where to go in times of crisis or need: to our God—our fortress, rock, and refuge.
It wasn’t easy or simple, but over time Maggie made that choice—and a step forward in faith.
Find one way this week to let God be your refuge.
Steve Wamberg is a husband, dad, writer, and pastor who loves his wife, kids and their spouses, preaching, teaching, music, coffee, friends, and Nebraska football.
