March 7: Of Crisis and Refuge

Numbers 8:1-9:23

Mark 13:14-37

Psalm 50:1-23

Proverbs 10:29-30

The way of the Lord is a refuge for the blameless, but it is the ruin of those who do evil.

• Proverbs 10:29

Does anyone else feel like they could use a refuge these days?  The corona virus is just the latest in what seems like a constant assault on one's sense of security.  Just year to-date, we've had locust infestations in Pakistan and East Africa, massive earthquakes in Turkey, Iran, and offshore both Jamaica and Russia, the brushfires in Australia and a volcanic eruption in the Philippines.  

Scripture tells us it is going to get worse, so much so we are to "flee to the mountains", without going back to get our cloaks.  It is going to be dreadful, especially for those who are particularly vulnerable, in "days of distress, unequaled from the beginning…and never to be equaled again".  

How wonderful then that we have a refuge - except that, like any other course, "the way of the Lord" is one we have to choose to take, to adopt, to live.  And sometimes it seems we just aren't any good at choosing wisely.  Not because it is physically difficult - but because we think we know better.  When God's instructions don't make sense to us, we dismiss them.  The psalmist accuses us of as much: "What right have you to recite my laws or take my covenant on your lips?  You hate my instruction and cast my words behind you."

We see a lot of this today - the willful misinterpretation or rejection of God's Word, plainly spoken, to excuse, justify or even idealize our sinful desires.  We see that in how society defines male and female, determines relationships, and ignores the sanctity of human life.  And, frankly, before pointing out the speck in someone else's eye, I see quite the bit of log in my own, from my inability to give Him the first fruits of my day, to my struggle to read scripture regularly, to the persistence of my signature sins, which I tend to dismiss.  

Worse, what's frustrating about my sinfulness is this: I know from experience that when I stray from the way of the Lord, I am faced with the impossibility of dealing with the challenges of my life with my own strength.  It is difficult enough trying to be a good husband, raise good children and do a good job at work on my own steam.  In the face of disease, earthquake or fire life would be even more impossible.  And yet, I persist - even worse, sometimes, I INSIST on doing it on my own.  Why then am I so surprised when I am prone to despair?  

Father, now as much as ever, we need refuge.  Teach us to choose to walk in Your paths, that whatever our circumstances, we know You are in control.  That You are our refuge.