Earlier this month, New Jersey was hit by Hurricane Ida. No one expected the hurricane to come when it did or be as severe as it was. Students received warnings from the National Weather Service: The warning stated, “National Weather Service: TORNADO WARNING in this area until 8:15 PM EDT. Take shelter now in a basement or an interior room on the lowest floor of a sturdy building. If you are outdoors, in a mobile home, or in a vehicle, move to the closest substantial shelter and protect yourself from flying debris.” This world is like a hurricane and when we get battered by the storms of life, the Lord promises us shelter. Psalm 32:7 says, “You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance.” Isaiah glorifies God and says, “For You have been a strength to the poor, a strength to the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shade from the heat; for the blast of the terrible ones is as a storm against the wall” (Isaiah 25:4). We all experience hardships in our lives, whether it is feeling lonely, going through a tough diagnosis, or stressing over classes. Yet, the Bible tells us that God will strengthen us in our times of distress. Psalm 46 portrays the power of God’s refuge as it says, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore, we will not fear, even though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; though its waters roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with its swelling” (Psalm 46: 1-3). Even after all this destruction and chaos, God simply says in Psalms 46: 10-11, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth! The Lord of hosts is with us; The God of Jacob is our refuge.” It is extremely difficult to not worry about classes, our future, and our hardships. Yet God tells us the solution to all our problems is to just “be still” and trust that He is in control, that He is God.
God desires to gather us and surround us by his love. He wants to protect us; our job is to only allow Him to. When lamenting over Jerusalem, Jesus says in Matthew 23:37, “How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!” God is portrayed as a caring mother in various parts of the Bible. In Deuteronomy 32, God is also portrayed as a mother eagle who protects its young. When speaking of the Israelites, Deuteronomy 32: 10-13 says that “He found him in a desert land and in the wasteland, a howling wilderness; He encircled him, He instructed him, He kept him as the apple of His eye. As an eagle stirs up its nest, hovers over its young, spreading out its wings, taking them up, carrying them on its wings, so the Lord alone led him, and there was no foreign god with him. He made him ride in the heights of the earth, that he might eat the produce of the fields.” At times we feel lonely and deserted, but God will always find us and care for us as a mother eagle. He will be with us in every struggle and lift us up. There is a story of one who dreamt of walking on the beach with God and as they walked scenes of the man’s life appeared. The man noticed that in his most trying times there was only one set of footprints in the sand. He believed that God had neglected him during his most troubled moments, but God replied, “The times when you have seen only one set of footprints in the sand, is when I carried you” (Mary Stevenson).
Thus, to find refuge in God we must trust that He can protect, provide, and carry us with all our needs. Psalm 62: 7-8 says, “Trust in Him at all times, you people; pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us.” God tells us to be still and pray to Him, pour out our heart to Him and tell Him of our troubles. Ask for strength and company in your time of need. For God says “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened” (Matthew 7:7-8). According to St. Augustine of Hippo in his exposition on Psalm 33, God is our helper and defender. He will help us when we seek Him and defend us as we resist adversaries. To find refuge in God, we must trust in Him. St. Isaac the Syrian says, “Trust in the Lord and surrender yourself to Him, because He who was with His servants during their difficult times and delivered them and revealed His power in [and through] them, will [also] be with you and keep you.” The Lord protected Daniel in the lion’s den, uplifted Joseph in Egypt, saved the Israelites from Pharaoh and again with Haman, and protected David from Goliath; how then will He not protect and comfort us during our hardships? Therefore, here is a spiritual weather warning, “National Weather Service: TRIBULATION STORM WARNING in this area. Take shelter now in God for He is strong and mighty. If you are away from Him, seek Him and ask for protection in your trying times.”