Of all the signage you pass by there are probably few that you ignore more than refuge signs. The federal government requires them and local governments post them accordingly. They indicate where you can find shelter in severe weather, areas of rescue for the disabled and assembling locations when there’s a fire. While traveling I remember chuckling the first time I saw a sign with the graphic of a giant wave and a small person that pointed toward a tsunami evacuation route. I clearly didn’t give it any serious thought. I’ve never heard of someone being irritated by the presence of these signs and I think everyone agrees that they serve an important purpose. Regardless of their merit, however, and despite being prominently posted with bright colors and creative images, refuge signs are often disregarded.
Perhaps your thinking goes like this, “There isn’t a tornado, I’m not in need of special assistance, there is no fire, the oceans appear to be under control and I have somewhere to be. I’m glad those signs are there for whenever and whoever might need them.” The frightening thought is not having a clue where to go the day that “whenever” actually happens and the “whoever” is you!
God gives us many refuge signs in His Word. In fact, He tells His children explicitly that He will serve as their refuge. He will be their shelter in the storm and their stronghold when under attack. At His feet is the assembling place when your life is on fire. Meditate on the following verses that describe God in this way.
Psalm 37:39–40
The salvation of the righteous is from the LORD; he is their stronghold in the time of trouble.
The LORD helps them and delivers them; he delivers them from the wicked and saves them, because they take refuge in him.
Psalm 46:1–3
God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling.
Joel 3:16
The LORD roars from Zion, and utters his voice from Jerusalem, and the heavens and the earth quake. But the LORD is a refuge to his people, a stronghold to the people of Israel.
Using exceedingly descriptive language God describes how he will protect His people from catastrophic harm. He provides protection for those in the most stressful of circumstances. Even when acutely exercising His judgment on sin, God still protects His children. Even earthly cataclysmic upheavals cannot endanger the Christian because God is your refuge and strength!
Is the route to your place of shelter well traveled? Are you quick to remember the refuge signs of the Bible when it feels like the ground beneath you is giving way, or have you routinely disregarded them? Does your brain run in circles fearfully crying, “The sky is falling!” or do you steer a direct course to the stronghold of God’s promise that He is your refuge and strength?
You don’t have to take my word for it. God wanted to convincingly demonstrate His righteous purposes to His children. As a result, those who flee to Him for refuge may be strongly encouraged to keep faith in a future hope. That is a promise worth remembering and celebrating. THAT is an anchor of the soul!
Hebrews 6:17–20
So when God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he guaranteed it with an oath, so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us. We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.