Seeking A Safe Shelter

It was a stormy day. Fierce winds and heavy rains made the windows of his office shake intensely. Suddenly one of the panes came loose and the wind and rain came rushing in and soaked the desk and papers of the great hymn writer, Charles Wesley.

Suddenly, he was startled by the sounds of a bird chirping. He looked around and discovered that a small bird had been carried into his room with the wind and the rain and had taken refuge in his coat that he had laid across a chair near his desk.

Noticing that the bird was frightened, he silently made his way to the chair and began to softly stroke the feathers of the bird to calm its fast-beating heart. The bird did not respond to his gentleness. Then he noticed that a hawk was perched on a bookcase, carefully watching the proceedings. He walked from his office with the bird and when the rain ceased released it into the sky. He went back to his desk and wrote the beloved hymn, “Jesus, lover of my soul, let me to Thy bosom fly.”

David had fierce “storms” in his life. There were many times in his life when he had no place to go or any person he could turn to for help. But he had God and he knew that he could turn to Him at any moment in any of the storms of his life.

“Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me,” he wrote. “For in You my soul takes refuge. I take refuge in the shadow of Your wings until the disaster passes.”

Prayer: Thank You, Heavenly Father, for being our refuge when the storms of life arise. Protect us, we pray. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Scripture for Today: Psalm 57:1 Have mercy on me, my God, have mercy on me, for in you I take refuge. I will take refuge in the shadow of your wings until the disaster has passed.