Day 43: Jesus is a Safe Refuge to Run To

God is our refuge and strength, a helper who is always found in times of trouble. PSALM 46:1, EMPHASIS MINE

But I will sing of your strength and will joyfully proclaim your faithful love in the morning. For you have been a stronghold for me, a refuge in my day of trouble. PSALM 59:16, EMPHASIS MINE

Because God wanted to show his unchangeable purpose even more clearly to the heirs of the promise, he guaranteed it with an oath, so that through two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to seize the hope set before us. HEBREWS 6:17–18, EMPHASIS MINE

YOU KNOW THOSE BUMPER cars at the county fair—the ones that keep you from getting hurt even when you purposely T-bone one of your friends in another bumper car after consuming too much sugar from funnel cakes? Well, an older, much wiser, licensed Christian counselor named Lynn has been my proverbial bumper for twenty years. She’s semi-retired at this point after having spent decades as a school administrator and then several more in private practice helping hundreds of people in Middle Tennessee navigate toward Jesus through the rapture and rupture of real life. In fact, it was my pastor who referred me to Lynn all those years ago with the ringing endorsement: “God chose Lynn to single-handedly save my marriage. If it weren’t for the grace and wisdom He poured through her, Darlene and I wouldn’t have made it.” Fortunately, she still sees a few clients a week, for which I’m super grateful because I’ve still got a few dents in my fender of a heart!

About sixteen years ago Lynn counseled me to make some significant changes that I didn’t. It wasn’t that I was trying to be oppositional or anything (goodness knows I hate to disappoint people, which I’ve also had to process in therapy!), but I simply didn’t have the emotional maturity or resolve to back up from a few relationships that were toxic for everyone involved. I was too afraid that stepping out of the drama I’d been enmeshed in for a long time would be like pulling the proverbial thread in a sweater and cause my whole world to unravel. However a few years later, after the relational earthquake she’d forecast in my life occurred and I was shaken to the core, she gently reiterated the same wise, biblical counsel she’d given me long before. What she did not do was tell me, “I told you so.” Not once. Instead, she provided a safe refuge where I could fall apart and allow the Holy Spirit to put me back together again.

The most common words for refuge are the Hebrew verb ḥāsâ (which means trust) and the derived noun maḥseh (which loosely means protection or fortified tower). Those two terms occur in tandem thirty-four times in the Psalms, and scholars say that their repeated usage indicates that our spiritual ancestors understood it was difficult to trust every outcome of their lives to God.37 Therefore, they reminded themselves on a regular basis that His presence was the only safe place to be in when they were scared or falling apart!

Speaking of falling apart, the disciple I’ve always identified with the most is Peter. Which makes sense in view of his verbose tendencies and similar habit of putting his foot in his motormouth on a regular basis! But I can also relate to his more serious issues, which reared their ugly head on the heels of the Last Supper soon after he dramatically declared to Jesus that he’d be faithful to Him forever, even if it meant facing his own death (Matt. 26:35). Because instead of acting like the ride-or-die hero he boasted to be, he threw Jesus under the bus by vehemently and vulgarly betraying Him to try to save his own neck as the harsh reality of the crucifixion began to unfold (Mark 14:66–72).

It would make perfect sense for Pete to have his disciple card revoked and his relationship with the Messiah annulled, wouldn’t it? But that’s not how the story goes. Instead, only a week or so later, when he’s out fishing with the other disciples—surely still overwhelmed with guilt from his betrayal and grief from Jesus’s death—Pete recognizes that the person talking to them from the beach is actually the resurrected Messiah. He then leaps out of the boat, swims as fast as he can toward shore, and runs toward his Savior (John 21). Remember, this is the first time Pete’s seen Jesus since he denied Him. It would’ve made more since had Pete swam in the opposite direction, hightailed it out of town, and not come back to face Jesus until he’d done some serious penance and could prove he’d dealt with his junk. But he doesn’t. Because after spending three years with the King of all kings, he’d witnessed the compassionate character of Christ more times than he could count. Therefore, despite his egregious error(s), Pete knew he’d find mercy at our Savior’s feet. And boy, did he! Jesus radically restored that ancient Benedict Arnold—assuring him that He wasn’t kicking him off the team, but was naming him team captain—and He didn’t even mention Peter’s epic fail when He did so!

Human nature presumes that the kind of guaranteed safety afforded by an impenetrable fortress would be available only to the honorable who’ve earned it. To those who fight gallantly instead of fail miserably. To those honest enough to admit their frailties before they’re glaringly apparent. To those who follow wise directions immediately, instead of years down the road after they’ve careened off a cliff. But our Savior’s nature is altogether different. Jesus opens the refuge of His arms wide to traitors like us and never, ever says, “I told you so,” even though He knows every single stupid, deceitful, cowardly thing we did that got us in trouble in the first place.

• OUTSIDE OF JESUS, who is your safest relationship? What makes you feel safe with him/her?
• READ PSALM 61:4. How would you put this lyric in your own words?
• READ MATTHEW 23:37. Although the context of Matthew 23 is about how the religious leaders in Jerusalem were preoccupied with looking spiritual instead of loving God, what does Jesus’s usage of the “hen and chicks” metaphor tell you about His heart?