I don't believe in coincidences, I believe in God — orchestrated moments that lead me to what the Father wants me to hear. And recently, I believe God wants me to understand what it means to take refuge in Him. For the past week, I've been reading through the Psalms and as I have been reading through various passages the word "refuge" has stuck out to me. This word is used in the Bible countless times, but recently it has caught my eye in a new way. After reading multiple passages that refer to taking refuge in God, I decided to dig deeper into the meaning of this.

The word "refuge" is defined as a condition of being safe or sheltered from pursuit, danger, or trouble. Something that provides shelter.

In other words, taking refuge in God means that we can find complete safety in Him. He is our shield from danger and trouble. He provides us with shelter in the midst of our storms.

This is one of those things that I can say to myself, "Oh, I know!" but not really know it in my heart. Within Psalms 31 the word refuge is used three times. And I don't think that God intended us to just merely look past this word.

To take refuge in God means despite our underlying circumstances we can make the decision to put our lives in the hands of God and to find complete security in Him. This means that when we are weak we are able to look to our Father and find refuge — a place of security and home, in Him.

In God is where we find our souls at peace and at rest, and that is found in looking to Him for a place of refuge and restoration.

In the early morning before the sun rises God has already taken your life and has held it in His hands, safe from danger and affliction. This happens every day, but its whether we fully allow ourselves to be submitted into HIs hands that changes the posture of our hearts. In this season of life that I'm in right now, there's a lot of room for uncertainty and for fear. Fear of the future, fear of failure, and fear of not being secure.

Lately, God has been speaking to my heart that looking to Him for refuge is the most important thing that I can do in this season. In Him, I know that I will be secure and that I will be safe. And in Him, I know that even if my plans don't work out the way that I want them to, I can still look to my Father for complete security and hope.

In Psalms 31, David is proclaiming that God is His refuge and that God rescues Him in the midst of the most adverse circumstances. He says over and over to God to be a rock of refuge for Him. And in case you didn't know, rocks and God are quite similar. They are both firm, steady, stable, immovable. He continues to say that God has always prepared a way for Him in the midst of His worst days and that He is his refuge! I think David repeats the word refuge so much in this passage to not only glorify God in who He is but to also remind himself. He recounts multiple times that God has been His refuge and He continues to say that God is STILL his refuge.

Sometimes we have to recount how God has been our refuge in our past in order to be confident that He is our refuge in the present.

So friends, let's be like David. Let's proclaim over, and over that God is our refuge and our steady, immovable, permanent rock. that will never give way. In this truth, we can live our lives knowing that our lives are in the hands of a Father who knows what He is doing.

When a child is small, they undoubtedly depend on their father to keep them safe. They don't even second guess it. If you were to ask a 4-year-old who keeps them safe, the would say in a heartbeat "My parents!" And that's the kind of mindset we need to have with our heavenly Father.

Who keeps us safe? Our Dad in heaven. Done deal, no second guessing. This truth is just beginning to penetrate my soul and guide my summer, and I hope it shifts something in your heart too.