Dave's Diary

Psalm 36

This week we are reflecting on what Jesus’ exile to Egypt as a ‘refugee child’ means (See Matthew 2:13-18). What does it teach us? How should it shape us?

Today’s passage for our devotional time is Psalm 36, and especially v.7-8.

“⁷ How priceless is your unfailing love, O God!
    People take refuge in the shadow of your wings.
⁸ They feast in the abundance of your house;
    you give them drink from your river of delights.

How do I feel when I think of refugees?

For many of us, to be completely honest, when the refugee looks and sounds a lot like me, I tend to feel great compassion for them. When they look and sound very different to me, that compassion does not come as naturally. Similarly, if that refugee’s presence makes my life somehow better or easier (perhaps because they are a reliable and affordable employee) I am quite happy with their presence. But if that refugee’s presence makes my life more difficult (perhaps because they compete against me for scarce employment opportunties, or become a reason for me to be taxed more heavily) their presence might make me frustrated and even bitter. On the other hand, for some of us, when I think of refugees, I am thinking of myself and my own family, and the danger or difficulty from which I/we fled to forge a better life for myself and others. Perhaps, after this week of reflection, when I think of refugees I think of Joseph, Mary and Jesus fleeing Herod and finding refuge in Egypt.

No matter where I fit on the spectrum of responses to the word “refugee”, the LORD invites me today to ponder the reality that, as a Christian, I am also a “refugee”. By definition a refugee must be one who takes refuge in the care of someone else (or some other nation). A “refugee” flees from a situation that threatens to overwhelm or destroy them and finds “refuge” in a safe place. The LORD is the One to whom all Christians have fled to find refuge from the life-destroying powers of sin and death. As Psalm 36:7 says, “People take refuge in the shadow of your wings”. Perhaps if we see ourselves as the spiritual refugees we actually are, our hearts will be more inclined to have compassion on those who are economic, political, or wartime refugees.

May the Lord Who was incarnate as a refugee, and whose unfailing love has caused Him to grant us refuge, change our hearts and give us compassion for all refugees.

O God, my Refuge and Protector, You are the Safe Place to which I can always flee. You are the Rock of Ages Who shelters me from every storm and hides me in Your shadow until danger is past. In You I am refreshed and restored by Your abundant, life-giving love. Change my heart, O Lord. Create in me a heart of compassion that sees refugees not as “other” but as a fellow human looking for refuge just like me. Amen.