The word “refuge” occurs twenty times in the Old Testament. It is defined as “a shelter, or protection, fortress; a place of trust; a shelter from storm.”
The writers of the Scriptures often used the image of God as being their refuge. “The eternal God is your refuge” (Deut. 33:27), promised Moses. “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble” (Ps. 46:1), wrote the psalmist. And the prophet Isaiah described God as being “a refuge from the storm” (Is. 25:4).
Godly families of today are not immune to the storms of life, which seem to move in frequently, often without warning. The present storm may be sickness, heartache caused by a wayward child, a financial setback, the death of a friend, or a broken relationship. But His children still have a place of refuge, a shelter from the storm.
Like the faithful of long ago, we must pass on to our children our confidence in the Lord, so that they will be able to weather the storms of life after they leave the shelter of home.
