“For thou hast been…a refuge from the storm…” (Isaiah 25:4)
Where do you look for information on Hurricane Helene? The National Weather Service? The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)? Network news? Some look in those places, but I recommend something else. Look to a prophet. The prophet Isaiah gives us truth as current as tomorrow’s headlines.
Isaiah wrote of the marvelous deeds and counsels of the living God. He praised the very name of God for such “wonderful things” (Isaiah 25:1). The prophet writes a list of God’s exploits: You have been “a strength to the poor, a strength to the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shadow from the heat…” (25:4). “A refuge from the storm” gets our attention because of Helene.
As Helene's howling winds uprooted trees, those of us who experienced this storm needed a refuge, a place of safety. Officials warned of threats and advised residents to seek shelter. Isaiah simply says that the Lord our God is “a refuge from the storm”. Buildings, bunkers, and basements may help, but the God who made the storm knows it and us fully. The mighty power of God outdoes the power of a storm–even when it’s a hurricane.
In a sin-cursed world, we will have storms. We may want a storm to go away, but we have, instead, a refuge from the storm. This is no ordinary refuge. It is a Person. This is no ordinary Person. He is the Creator of all. He is no ordinary Creator. He loves those whom He has created. This is no ordinary love. He would die for the sins of the world. This is no ordinary death. He would be raised back to life and thereby conquer death for all who place trust in Him. Belonging to this divine refuge from the storm is, ultimately, far greater than having a refuge made of steel or stone. Those refuges can fail; this One can’t. Those refuges may run out of room; this One won’t. Those refuges may be destroyed some day; this One is eternal. Those refuges are impersonal; this One knows and loves us.
As if to follow Isaiah’s lead, centuries later Paul the Apostle would describe our great God as “the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort” (2 Corinthians 1:3b). That sounds like a refuge, doesn’t it? In the storm and its aftermath, we need a divine refuge far more than we need electricity, water, gasoline, and ice. Let’s rejoice that the Lord God is a refuge from the storm.
