As I write these words, Hurricane Matthew is “skirting” along the coast of Florida as its winds and waves pommel the coastline.  Many in Haiti and the Bahamas have suffered great loss due to the storm.  I know we are all praying for those who have been affected by the storm and that those in its path will take refuge in safe places.

“Refuge” is defined as shelter or protection from danger or trouble.

A passage of Scripture comes to mind:

“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. Selah” (Psalm 46:1-3).

The Psalmist speaks of a time of upheaval and turmoil.  Although the Psalmist doesn’t identify the nature of the storm, his inspired words remind us of the mayhem that a hurricane can bring to those in its path.

God is our ultimate refuge, no matter what storms may come.  He is the One who can carry us through the storms whether they are physical, emotional, and even spiritual.

There is a “storm” far greater than Hurricane Matthew bearing down upon us from which God is our only Refuge...

A.C. Dixon shared a story that a friend who liked to hunt told him:

“Rising early one morning,” he said, "I heard the barking of a number of dogs chasing a deer.  Looking at a large open field in front of me, I saw a young fawn making its way across the field and giving signs that its race was almost run.  It leaped over the rails of the enclosed place and crouched within ten feet of where I stood.  A moment later two of the hounds came over, and the fawn ran in my direction and pushed its head between my legs.  I lifted the little thing to my breast, and, swinging round and round, fought off the dogs.  Just then I felt that all the dogs in the West could not and would not capture that fawn after its weakness had appealed to my strength.”

So is it when human helplessness appeals to Almighty God.

I remember well when the hounds of sin were after my soul that at last I ran into the arms of Almighty God. *

Those “hounds of sin” pursue all of us for “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).  With the fury of a hurricane, they threaten death and destruction (Romans 6:23; Matthew 7:13-14).

But in God we can find refuge and eternal life.  "For God so loved the world that He gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).  Jesus, God’s Son, died on the cross to pay the price for our redemption from sin (Ephesians 1:7).  Through Him, we find refuge in God from sin and its “hounds.”

God will provide refuge to those who place their faith and trust in Jesus (Acts 16:30-31), turn from their sins in repentance (Acts 17:30-31), confess Jesus before men (Romans 10:9-10), and are baptized (immersed) into Christ for the forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:38).  He will continue to cleanse from sin those who continue to walk in the light of His Word (1 John 1:7).

No matter what storms may come, we may find refuge and eternal life in God.

Won’t YOU trust and obey Him today?

-- David A. Sargent

* A. C. Dixon, quoted in On Prayer by E. M. Bounds and shared by www.preachingtoday.com

David A. Sargent, Minister