Happy Monday, everyone! You're already one week into the semester! We're getting some ladies lined up to contribute to Meditation Monday for the rest of the semester but I wanted to kick it off with my own contribution.
Some of you know I lived in Spain for a year, but I often don't get a chance to share about my last month, which I spent walking across Spain on the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage (if you've heard about the new movie The Way, this is the same thing). My best friend and I walked from the border of France and Spain across to the western coast of Spain, above Portugal.
(Yes, that's me with my backpack bundled up, walking in the rain in Spain - which falls mainly in the...all over, really)
Almost every day started off with drizzly rain and some days we walked for 8 or more hours in rain. We'd stop somewhere in the evening and find a "pilgrim" hostel to stay in. Sometimes those were full and we had to walk to the next town! (Sound familiar? I gained new empathy for Mary and Joseph.)
This morning I read Psalm 18, and verse 30 says,
"This God - his way is perfect;
the word of the Lord proves true;
he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him."
On the Camino, I learned what it meant to need refuge and also enjoy the pleasures of refuge - refuge from the rain, the cold, the elements, the exhaustion of walking for several hours 30 days in a row, the blisters, etc. I will probably never get a chance to go back on that pilgrimage (although I'd love to!) but I still need refuge everyday.
How do you take refuge in God? I've thought of a couple things we can do:
- cling the promises of God - his promise to never leave us or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5), to bring to completion his work in us (Philippians 1:6), etc.
- talk to him about our burdens - cast all your anxieties on him because he cares for you (1 Peter 5:7)
- fight the urge to find refuge in other things - success, wealth, relationships, marital status, etc. (Psalm 62:10 and 146:3)
- invite other people in to the refuge - by sharing the Good News that we can find refuge from our sin and burdens in Christ alone (Matthew 11:30).
Please comment below with how you find refuge in God. Until next week!
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ReplyDeleteFinding refuge in God is a lot like rest for me. I think that I almost have had to train my brain to take refuge in God. The Bible tells us that we can't really do anything on our own, and I think this is another thing that we don't do on our own. Things I used to take refuge in are movies, being lazy, tv shows, food, friends... but I am slowly beginning to see what it means to refuge in God. To turn to Him first, before all other things.
ReplyDeleteSomething that Lindsay wrote about remembering God's promises is something that really stands out to me. I think that training my brain to focus on God when I have been through the rain and my feet are sore and remembering His promises.
Sorry... so much randomness in writing/my brain.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on rest and God's promises, Chelsea!
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