Our God, Our Refuge

Ruth 2:12 The LORD repay you for what you have done, and a full reward be given you by the LORD, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge.

Prov. 14:26 In the fear of the LORD one has strong confidence, and his children will have a refuge.

In the passages of Scripture above there is a phrase that has "stuck out" to me, and that is the phrase, "a refuge" Boaz said of Ruth that she had come to take refuge in the LORD. The writer of Proverbs declared that the children of the Lord will have a refuge.

The dictionary defines refuge as:
a condition of being safe or sheltered from pursuit, danger, or trouble;something providing such shelter.

The concept of trust is implicit in the phrase, "take refuge" One comes to trust in whatever they are taking refuge. The character of humility is also implicit, because one realizes that they are no match for whatever the danger is. And of course it is obvious, that there is some kind of danger from which we need to be sheltered or protected.

Over and over again, we find the scriptures referring to God as our refuge:

Deut. 33:27 The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms: and he shall thrust out the enemy from before thee; and shall say, Destroy them.
2Sam. 22:3 The God of my rock; in him will I trust: he is my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower, and my refuge, my saviour; thou savest me from violence.
Psa. 46:1 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
Psa. 46:7 The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.
Psa. 46:11 The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.
Psa. 48:3 God is known in her palaces for a refuge.
Psa. 57:1 Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto me: for my soul trusteth in thee: yea, in the shadow of thy wings will I make my refuge, until these calamities be overpast.
Psa. 62:7 In God is my salvation and my glory: the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God.
Psa. 62:8 Trust in him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before him: God is a refuge for us. Selah.
Psa. 91:2 I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.
Psa. 94:22 But the LORD is my defence; and my God is the rock of my refuge.

Ruth illustrates some characteristics of those that have made God their refuge:

• She worshiped her redeemer. "Then she fell on her face, bowing to the ground, and said to him..." (Ruth 2:10a)
  
• She exhibited humility and amazement at the grace of her redeemer, “Why have I found favor in your eyes, that you should take notice of me, since I am a foreigner?” (Ruth 2:10b)
• She exhibited love for others who had taken refuge in the LORD. “All that you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband has been fully told to me,"
  
• She was willing to forsake the natural refuges in her life. "and how you left your father and mother and your native land"
  

God is the only suitable refuge in which we must trust. All other refuges are fleeting, and idols.

Oh Lord, Thank you for being my refuge. Help me to consciously rest beneath your wings this day in everything that I do.