(God as our Refuge (Mach-seh)
Psalm (:9: 9-10
9 The Lord is a shelter for the oppressed,
a refuge in times of trouble.
10 Those who know your name trust in you,
for you, O Lord, do not abandon those who search for you.
A few years ago, a young Liberian man experienced the truth of God's promise to be a refuge for the oppressed. His story takes place in the late 1990's, in the middle of Liberia's bloody civil war.
Joedafi was doing his best to stay alive while making the fourty five mile trek on foot to the capital city of Monravia, hoping for a chance to escape the fighting that raged around him. After he and his friends spotted several bodies rotting in the bushes, he began crying out to God with the words of Psalm 23 - "Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death..."
Suddenly he and his companions were surrounded by soldiers. They had unwittingly wandered into Charles Taylor's rebel camp.
When one of Joedafi's friends tried to resist, the rebels didn't hesitate - they slit his throat with a machete.
Joedafi was thrown into a crudely constructed jail, around which were strewn human bones and skulls. Knowing he would die if he didn't escape, he kept on praying Psalm 23. Then after a few days, he was moved to a deep place within the forest. He reports what happened next:
'I began to feel that I would be set free by the Almighty God. I'm not sure how I came to have such a feeling, but it was ever there. The thought was quite wild, becaue I witnessed the soldiers disregard for life. They made us drink from human skulls, bury dead bodies and live on leaves.
Yet Psalm 23 was giving me the feeling that out of this valley of the shadow of death, God would deliver me. In the past I read my bible daily and went to church. Now I believed that God would do something and prove himself. I had believed in the Lord and trusted him to lead me in my life. I took faith in the teaching I had heard, that the Lord delivers those who trust him and commit their ways to him.
One evening, as I was dozing off to sleep, I heard a silent voice call my name, commanding me to rise up and walk away from my captors. It was so commanding, I obeyed instantly and walked past sleeping guards out into the main road. I walked on spellbound and passed by many rebel soldiers along the road, but none of them dared ask me any questions. I walked through many check-points and wasn't stopped once.'
Joedafi kept on walking, hour after hour, until he met someone willing to give him a ride to Monravia, where he then boarded a ship bound for Ghana.
What a remarkable story of a man who trusted God to be his refuge and was not dissapointed. Most of us will never face the kind of terror Joedafi describes, but we will pass through storms that test our faith. When that happens, remember that the same God who miraculously rescued this man, is your God too. Let him be the refuge you seek, your stronghold in times of trouble.
Today as you think about God's desire to be a refuge for his people, pray for believers throughout the world who are suffering the ravaging effects fo poverty, war, famine and natural disasters. Ask God to shelter and to save them.
by Ann Spangler
Psalm 23:4-6
Even when I walk
through the darkest valley,
I will not be afraid,
for you are close beside me.
Your rod and your staff
protect and comfort me.
5 You prepare a feast for me
in the presence of my enemies.
You honor me by anointing my head with oil.
My cup overflows with blessings.
6 Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me
all the days of my life,
and I will live in the house of the Lord
forever.
Psalm 91
1 Those who live in the shelter of the Most High
will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
2 This I declare about the Lord:
He alone is my refuge, my place of safety;
he is my God, and I trust him.
3 For he will rescue you from every trap
and protect you from deadly disease.
4 He will cover you with his feathers.
He will shelter you with his wings.
His faithful promises are your armor and protection.
5 Do not be afraid of the terrors of the night,
nor the arrow that flies in the day.
6 Do not dread the disease that stalks in darkness,
nor the disaster that strikes at midday.
7 Though a thousand fall at your side,
though ten thousand are dying around you,
these evils will not touch you.
8 Just open your eyes,
and see how the wicked are punished.
9 If you make the Lord your refuge,
if you make the Most High your shelter,
10 no evil will conquer you;
no plague will come near your home.
11 For he will order his angels
to protect you wherever you go.
12 They will hold you up with their hands
so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone.
13 You will trample upon lions and cobras;
you will crush fierce lions and serpents under your feet!
14 The Lord says, “I will rescue those who love me.
I will protect those who trust in my name.
15 When they call on me, I will answer;
I will be with them in trouble.
I will rescue and honor them.
16 I will reward them with a long life
and give them my salvation.”
I hope this story encourages you as much as it did me'
God Bless - Follower of the Way
