{"id":5892,"date":"2022-05-01T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-05-01T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.barbdahlgren.com\/?p=5892"},"modified":"2022-03-05T18:15:21","modified_gmt":"2022-03-06T00:15:21","slug":"god-is-my-refuge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/?p=5892","title":{"rendered":"God Is My Refuge"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignleft size-large is-resized\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.barbdahlgren.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/God-Is-Our-Refuge-churchartpro.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/www.barbdahlgren.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/God-Is-Our-Refuge-churchartpro-746x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-5893\" width=\"170\" height=\"233\" srcset=\"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/God-Is-Our-Refuge-churchartpro-746x1024.jpg 746w, https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/God-Is-Our-Refuge-churchartpro-219x300.jpg 219w, https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/God-Is-Our-Refuge-churchartpro-768x1054.jpg 768w, https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/God-Is-Our-Refuge-churchartpro-600x824.jpg 600w, https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/God-Is-Our-Refuge-churchartpro-1119x1536.jpg 1119w, https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/God-Is-Our-Refuge-churchartpro.jpg 1306w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 170px) 100vw, 170px\" \/><\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><em>It Is Good to Be Thankful: Appreciation makes the world a better place\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Many scriptures refer to God as a rock, a strong tower, our strength, and our refuge (Psalm 18:2). A refuge is a place that provides shelter and protection from danger and distress. God is our refuge. He\u2019s our safe place to go when this world gets us down. Sometimes I forget that and try to muddle through on my own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the Old Testament, God instructed the Israelites to set apart six cities as \u201ccities of refuge,\u201d places where people could flee if they unintentionally killed someone\u2014an accidental death (Deuteronomy 19). These cities were easily accessible and open to everyone. The gates were never locked. They could be protected from those seeking vengeance. &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Moses was the first to use the concept of God being a refuge for all His people (Deuteronomy 33:27). King David said God was his stronghold and refuge (2 Samuel 22:2). Psalm 46:1 reminds us that \u201cGod is our refuge and strength, a very present help in our time of trouble. Therefore, we will not fear\u2026\u201d Psalm 91:4 lets us know we can take refuge \u201cunder God\u2019s wings.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Spiritually speaking, we all need somewhere to flee when we get off track, inadvertently harm others, and make mistakes. A place to cast our cares during dire circumstances (1 Peter 5:7). A place to find rest when we are tired and weary (Matthew 11:28). A place to find solace when we are fodder for the rumor mill or falsely accused. A place to find comfort when we feel hurt or misunderstood. We have such a place. We can flee towards God\u2019s mercy and grace. God is our refuge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I often get overwhelmed and anxious which brings an unpleasant churning sensation inside me. Then I read Psalm 94:18-19: \u201cYour mercy, O Lord, will hold me up. In the multitude of my anxieties within me, your comforts delight my soul.\u201d God is my refuge. Thankfully I can go to Him instead of trying to muddle through life on my own.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><em>*****<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><em>\u201cIt is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord..<\/em><em>.\u201d ~ Psalms 92:1 (KJV)<\/em><em><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It Is Good to Be Thankful: Appreciation makes the world a better place\u2026 Many scriptures refer to God as a rock, a strong tower, our strength, and our refuge (Psalm 18:2). A refuge is a place that provides shelter and &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/?p=5892\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5892"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5892"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5892\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5892"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5892"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5892"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}