Turn your ear toward me. Rescue me quickly. Be a rock of refuge for me, a strong fortress to save me. [Psalm 31:2 (GW)]

Naomi Sachs, a landscape architect and designer of hospital healing gardens, says this about safe havens: “We feel safest when we can see with a clear view – prospect – from a safe vantage point without being seen – refuge.” While hiking one day, I saw a rock that made me think of David’s “rock of refuge.” High in the mountains, it afforded a clear view of the valley below and yet provided both a place of concealment and shelter from a storm. Of course, David was speaking figuratively when he likened God to a rock of refuge. It was not until I read Sachs’ words, however, that I truly understood why this metaphor is so apropos. We can’t all climb a mountain and rest in the shade of a huge boulder while gazing out at the world below us, but we all do have a rock of refuge that welcomes us: our Lord. He not only provides a vantage point for our lives but also shelter, protection and salvation.

The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my Savior, my God, my rock in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the strength of my salvation, my stronghold. [Psalm 18:2 (GW)]