Supreme refuge can be found in God, Christ

Anyone who has lived in eastern New Mexico and west Texas for any time knows that storms can appear in minutes from nowhere. Such was the case one January night many years ago when a snow storm of blizzard proportion swept the high plains, leaving cars stranded all along the highway. The highway travelers realized they needed some sheltered place away from the treacherous elements until the storm was over. So a certain elevator in a small West Texas community became the answer for many stranded motorists.

The owner of the grain elevator happened to be in the office of his business the night the blizzard hit. Drivers stopped their cars all along the highway because efforts to drive in the blinding snow were futile.

Knowing that so many people could be stranded in the harsh weather, the owner of the elevator initiated a one-man search and rescue mission. With his powerful tractor as the recovery vehicle, he traveled up and down the highway in search of people in their stranded cars. He rescued several travelers along the way and took each to the safety of his elevator. After two hours, he had picked up everyone within one mile east and west of his elevator.

The benevolent elevator owner opened his doors to all the travelers and all ages. They were all ages from a four-month-old baby to an eighty-year-old man. These strangers were unharmed in the shelter of the elevator until morning when the blizzard passed. Travelers enjoyed the hot coffee and warm atmosphere of the elevator office when the storm was raging outside.

Admirable was the owner of the elevator because his hospitality and goodness made way for protection that night. The stranded all rallied around him and looked to him for safety.

There is an example of those looking for safety and protection in the Bible. Resentful Saul was pursuing the Old Testament character David. Saul hated David so he sought to kill him. For safety, David hid him from Saul in the cave of Adullam. In the meantime, David had accumulated a following of about 400 men who were for one reason or another able to pick up and leave their personal lives and go with David.

They must have been some bunch with problems. The Bible describes them: "All those who were in distress or in debt or discontented gathered around him, and he became their leader." (1 Samuel 22:2) Possibly they were out there in the wilderness with David for a variety of reasons. Maybe some had left their homes and traveled with David to get away from personal circumstances. Probably many were running away from something. The Bible sums it up by saying some were just "discontent." Each had his own personal quandary.

So they congregated around David. He became their leader. Maybe it was his bravery that drew them to David. But David accepted them for who they were, even with all the problems each had. They were under David’s protection and under his authority.

In both these instances, a grain elevator owner and David were good characters who provided protection and safety for yet a while. But both were only human. Their efforts worked for a time. Their “humanness,” though, had limitations.

But not God. Psalm 92:1-2 reads: “He who dwells in the shelter of the most high will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the Lord, ‘My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.’”

The Psalmist says that God is our refuge and the Psalmist trusted in God and he lived in intimacy with God because he remained under the shadow of the Almighty.

God is the supreme protector over all of us. We can find shelter in him. No matter the need, in Jesus Christ refuge can be found. And that refuge is not just for a stormy night or for a while in a cave but for all eternity.

Judy Brandon is a Clovis resident. Contact her at: [email protected]