July 9, 2022 – Words of Wisdom, Albert Schweitzer

Refuge

“There are two means of refuge from the miseries of life: music and cats.” – Albert Schweitzer

“Now during those days he went out to the mountain to pray, and he spent the night in prayer to God. And when day came, he called his disciples and chose twelve of them, whom he also named apostles: Simon, whom he named Peter, and his brother Andrew, and James, and John, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James son of Alphaeus, and Simon, who was called the Zealot,and Judas son of James, and Judas Iscariot…” Luke 6:12-16

Refuge

We all need some refuge. We all need time to recover and refresh. Jesus would go up mountains to be alone – to escape his disciples and the people pressing in on him who were seeking healing and strength. But Jesus never remained on the mountain for long periods of time – for there was too much to do.

We do not get a lot of time for recovery – like our cats. Our cats seem to rest and recover for 20 hours and spend the other four hours knocking things on the floor and eating. As such we need to use our time effectively – our work time and our resting time.

We pray often that Jesus will be our “refuge” and our strength. If Jesus is our refuge, then when we find time to recover, we know that Jesus is with us. Oh we may not get twenty hours of refreshment each day like our cats, but when we do get the chance to have some refuge, may we use it to the renewal of our lives and our faith.

Let us pray,

Lord Jesus, you promise us paradise when we enter into your kingdom. But while we live in this world, paradise will always remain just out of reach or at the most, fleeting and temporary. Give me refuge today so I may continue to find refreshment in you. Amen.

Pastor Dave