Day 13: Refuge Is a Verb
Read: Psalm 7:1–5
O LORD my God, in you do I take refuge; save me from all my pursuers and deliver me,
— Psalm 7:1 (ESV)
Reflect
We usually think of a refuge as a place. A shelter. A safe house. Somewhere you can point to on a map.
But in this verse, refuge is something David does. "In you do I take refuge." The word is ḥasiti, and it describes an action that has been completed and is still in force. You could put it this way: "I ran in, and I am still in."
That is a helpful picture. Taking refuge is not a vague feeling of trust. It is a movement. Something is chasing you, and you run toward God rather than away from him, or toward something else. Then, having run in, you stay. You do not peek out every few minutes to see whether you could handle things better on your own.
This same family of words runs all through the Psalms. "God is our refuge and strength" (Psalm 46:1). "My refuge and my fortress" (Psalm 91:2). "Blessed are all who take refuge in him" (Psalm 2:12). But before refuge is a place, it is something you do.
And it is something you do again. Yesterday's running in does not cover today's pursuers. Each morning brings its own threats, and each morning offers the same choice: where will you run first?
Across Scripture
Boaz blessed Ruth, a foreigner, as one who had come to take refuge under the wings of the God of Israel (Ruth 2:12). Psalm 91:4 promises the same wings, and Psalm 2:12 closes the first pair of psalms with this same verb. Jesus used the image of himself, longing to gather Jerusalem's children "as a hen gathers her brood under her wings" (Matthew 23:37).
Sit With It
Refuge is chosen again each morning. When trouble shows up today, what are you running to first?
Pray
In you I take refuge.
Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.