| “…he shields all who take refuge in him.” |
| —Psalm 18:30c |
I have acquaintances who served in the early days of the war in Afghanistan. They tell me one of the most frustrating parts of trying to fight in that horribly rocky environment was the caves—literally thousands of caves in which the Taliban could take refuge and from which they could attack our troops. My acquaintances have told me that nothing in their training prepared them for that terrain, or for the frustration caused by those caves. The caves gave the enemy a significant advantage.
I wonder, did you ever try to find a really good hiding place that would shield you from your enemies?
“Wait a minute,” you say. “What makes you think I have the kind of enemies from which I need to take refuge? I’m not that kind of person. Everybody likes me.”
Okay. I understand. Of course you wouldn’t have any enemies like that. I forgot that you’re not like me. You’re a “normal” person. Please let me explain:
In late elementary school, all thourgh the three years of junior high school, and during my first year of high school, I often had to find someplace to hide from my enemies. I was mercilessly bullied by a group of boys who hated the very ground on which I walked. Why did they hate me so much? I never really knew for certain. But, later on, during required therapy for Psychology majors in college, I got a sense that they probably didn’t like me because, well, I was different—very different.
I literally hated organized sports. Oh, I played a little pick up baseball and basketball in elementary school. But, I was never any good at it. Even as an adult, on a church softball team, I played right field. Anyone who knows anything at all about sports knows what that means.
I also did not have the “normal” interests of boys my age. I didn’t like roughhousing. I didn’t like working on cars. I didn’t like telling dirty stories, and I didn’t like the host of other activities that went along with the juvenile harassment of girls.
Instead, I liked radio broadcasting, electrical wiring, sound systems, strategy games, magic tricks, fire protection, and reading. I spent an enormous amount of my time reading. I read every book about radio broadcasting and fire protection on which I could get my hands. I devoured Dewey decimal 621.384—the books on radio broadcasting—so much so that it eventually called my reading habits to the attention a school teacher who also worked at the radio station and invited me to visit him there.
I also had the “curse” of usually understanding the things the teachers were trying to teach us well before the other kids in my classes. Because I was a verbal person, I very likely, though unintentionally and without malice, flaunted my knowledge far too quickly. And, thus, I earned the hatred of most of the boys and many of the girls in my classes.
I carried my bright red Youth for Christ Bible on top of my books and met with a few other students for prayer before school once a week. Like I said, I was “different.”
A group of boys began to wait for me at lunch time and after school to give me a beating. Those beatings went on day after day, month after month, year after year. So, you see, I had enemies from which I needed to find a place of refuge. And, I found some really good ones. For example, at the end of the school day, I had to figure out a way to get from my last class, out of the school, across the street, up the hill, and arrive at the city bus stop without getting waylaid by my enemies who waited to beat me up.
Day after day, I would try to find a route that would get me to the bus stop without falling into the trap my enemies had set for me. I eventually found a way down into the basement of the school through a normally unused passageway—a place where students were not supposed to know about, let alone have permission to explore. This passageway led through a tunnel to an entrance that was only used to bring heavy pieces of equipment into the boiler room.
From the exit of that tunnel, I could go through a couple of back yards and reach the next closest city bus stop. If I was fast enough and careful enough, I could get on the bus, find a seat in the back, and crouch down, so my tormentors waiting for me on the sidewalk near the normal bus stop would not see me as the city bus passed them by.
You see, they all rode the school-provided buses, since they lived outside the city limits. So, they never rode the city bus, which I had to ride since I lived inside the city limits. And, if my circuitous pathway worked successfully, for one more day I had escaped a beating. I actually used that route for months and months until, one day, I found that someone had put a chain and padlock on the exit door. So, I had to find another place of refuge. And, of course, I did.
In Psalm 18:30, King David expresses his overwhelming joy at knowing that he had found the ultimate place of refuge from all his enemies. Notice what he wrote:
As for God, his way is perfect: The Lord’s word is flawless; he shields all who take refuge in him.
That’s it! That’s the answer! God is the One who shields His beloved children. He provides a safe place for all who take refuge in Him. He protects us and keeps us and makes us invisible to our enemies.
Each day, when we go out into a hostile world, God gives us a shield of His mercy, grace, and love to keep us safe in the territory held by our enemy, the devil. He also enables us to speak truth against Satan’s lies. And, He gives us the ability to represent Him well to a needy and dying world. Let us rejoice this day that God is our refuge. As Psalm 46:1 declares:
God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.
That, dear ones, is really, really good news!
Based on a blog originally posted on Tuesday, July 26, 2016
