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The
Nesting Urge
By Jerri
Phillips
Yesterday the children
and I had some errands to run. I wanted to get them
finished before we were hit with the predicted “arctic
blast” headed our way. I really thought we were doing
pretty well, too. When we walked to the car, it was
chilly but certainly not what I could consider
unbearably cold. However, I had forgotten how protected
we are since we are in the low spot of our neighborhood.
As soon as we reached the higher road, I realized we had
not beaten the weather front at all. Instead, I had
brought my two underdressed children out into a cold
wind that was saturated with drizzle. While the
temperature hovered around freezing, the wind-chill was
frigid measuring in the low teens.
As I watched the trees swaying in the brisk wind, I
immediately revised our plans. What was absolutely
necessary? My list of destinations instantly dropped
from five “need to/would like to” to two “have to”
stops. I had to go to the post office, and we had to
have some food. Everything else could wait.
As I was driving to our first stop, I became fixated on
the trees in the median. The leaves that covered the
bottom third of the trees were nothing less than
gorgeous. They were red, gold, and orange. Stunning
artistry, but that wasn’t what captured my attention.
What completely fascinated me were the bare limbs
protruding up from the leafy skirts, and more
specifically, I found my eyes fixed on nests attached
tightly to the blowing limbs.
While the depth of the nests varied, the general design
did not. Each nest was a bowl, and into the sides of the
bowl were knitted two or three limbs of the tree.
Although one limb might be wrestled from the nest by the
pull of the wind, it would be highly unlikely that all
limbs would be pulled from their anchors, so even in the
strongest wind, the nest would be secure.
I marveled at the design and thought, “Now, if I were a
bird, that’s exactly where I would want to be when the
weather got rough.” While I didn’t see any little heads
over the edges of the sides, I imagined little birds
curled up warmly in the nests.
I found myself smiling. Watching those nests was more
than just a nice thought or a wonder at nature. It was a
marvelous reassurance. Like the birds that built those
nests, I need a secure place to hide when the weather
gets rough. Like the birds and most people I know, there
are times when I really need a strong refuge.
Thankfully, I have found one.
For so much of my life, I would hear people talk about
God being their refuge. He was their hiding place, their
fortress. I have to tell you that it sounded really
good, and these were people that I admired as
Christians. Naturally, I wanted in on having God as a
refuge, too. Unfortunately, I didn’t have the slightest
idea how it worked. Still, I tried.
For a long time, I tried making God my refuge by
repeating, “You are my refuge. I will not panic or
worry. I will rest in you. You are my refuge. I will not
panic or worry. I will rest in you.” Of course, I was
repeating it while in a nearly hysterical state of mind,
so you can imagine how
helpful it was.
Then there was the, “I will remind God I am making Him
my refuge” phase. You know, where instead of telling
myself that God is my refuge, I would tell Him. It
worked like this: some big stressor would come along,
and I would say, “Lord, I am not going to worry about
this because you are my refuge.” When the stressor
didn’t go away immediately, I’d remind Him, “Lord, I
will not worry. You are my refuge. You will handle
this.” And if it continued, “Lord, you are my refuge.
You will handle this. You are the one who will make this
stop.” What I was really doing in a very subtle way is
saying, “Hello! Lord! You’re God. Fix this, and
preferably now because that is how I think you, as God,
should do it.” That was really useful (pretend your
screen just rolled backward. You just witnessed my
rolling my eyes).
There are other methods of making God our refuge. There
is the “I’ll try to deny anything is wrong” method. Of
course, lots of us have tried the “I’ll pray it into the
ground” method. I even tried the “I’ll tell everyone I
am making God my refuge, and magically, I will” method.
You know what? None of those worked for me, and I became
really frustrated because I wanted to find refuge in the
Lord, and I really thought I was. Then I began to accuse
God of not wanting to be my refuge. After all, I was
trying. Why wasn’t He doing His part? Then I repented of
that and decided I just must be too bad for God to be my
refuge. Why would He be a refuge for someone like me?
You know what the real problem was? The real issue was
not about God at all. The truth is He desires for us to
run to Him for refuge. I know that may be hard to
comprehend, but look at the logic for a moment. Jesus
came, died, and rose again as a sacrifice to pay for the
sins of every human who ever lived. Why would God make
that sacrifice for any reason other than His love being
so great that He wanted man to be reconciled to Him, and
humans simply could not do it in their own power? You
know what else makes me believe the Lord desires a
relationship more than you can ever know? I believe that
because as soon as you confess your need for Christ and
receive forgiveness, the angels in heaven throw a party.
No kidding. The Bible says that there is rejoicing in
heaven over one sinner who is saved (Luke 15:7).
Obviously, God is giddy with excitement at meeting our
every need, including that of being our refuge. So what
is the problem?
The problem is our own preconceived ideas of what a
refuge is.
Remember that one of my methods of “taking refuge” was
to basically demand that God fix the situation right
then. Sadly, many of us have begun to associate having
our needs met with instantaneous action. If people do
not respond immediately, they are not truly concerned.
If phone calls take a few days to return, we get annoyed
because if we were priority, those calls would be done
today. Let’s face it, you either love me right now, or
you don’t love me.
Well, God loves you, but sometimes it will take awhile
for it to become obvious.
Think about the nests for a moment. If a bird snuggles
down in one of those nests, he’ll probably stay warm. He
definitely won’t have to fly against the wind or even
huddle in the open grass with his head tucked under his
wing while the wind and rain pelt him. The nest provides
a refuge from the storm, but it doesn’t stop the storm.
The wind continues to blow, but the bird only feels a
sway, not the biting chill.
It seems so obvious, but for some strange reason, we
have the idea that a refuge means the storm will
instantaneously come to a halt. My friend, a refuge is
nothing more than a conversation piece unless it
provides safety from something.
Another mistake we make is neglecting the status or
condition of our refuge. Now, don’t misunderstand me.
God does not change. If our refuge isn’t sturdy or if it
lets in some rain, it is not God’s fault. He is the same
God for us as He is for any of your big name preachers,
the prayer warrior at church, and the woman who is
always happy at the grocery store. His ability as God is
not what determines His effectiveness as our refuge. We
are the ones who determine who effective He is.
How do we assure that our refuge is in good condition?
The answer is found in Psalm 18:30 and 2 Samuel 22:31.
Both scriptures state clearly that God’s way is perfect
and his word is flawless. Our refuge is not in the
strength of the storm. Our refuge is our knowing the One
who carries us through the storm. The only way to do
that is to know the Word. We need to read the word and
memorize it. Memorizing scripture is a lost discipline,
and that is a true detriment. Scripture is God’s
unfailing truth. It is the only thing we have tangible
in this world that we can know is beyond circumstance.
Last night, we were hit by the predicted arctic storm.
The freezing precipitation hit at our house before it
reached Rob’s work. I immediately called him, and he
said he would leave within minutes. Since the drive is
usually an hour, I assumed that by leaving at three
o’clock, he would be home well before dark. Three hours
later, I had not heard from him. The television was
plastered with news of the hazardous driving conditions.
At first, I began to worry more and more. I was praying
the whole time, but I was still getting a tension
headache, and even the children were picking up on the
anxiety. Finally, I began to repeat, “The steps of a
righteous man are ordered of God.” For several minutes
that was my mantra. Then I began to expound on that
truth. “Jerri, wherever Rob is, God has control. That
car will not do anything God has not ordained. You have
entrusted Rob to God’s care, and God is faithful. Rob’s
ways are directed by God, and God is merciful and
gracious. Rob is fine because God is in control.” It
took very little time for my anxiety to dissipate.
Instead of pacing from the window to the television, I
started playing on the floor with the children, and when
Anna asked where Daddy was, I simply said, “He and God
are driving home. Don’t worry. He is fine because God is
driving the car.” Anna never questioned. She just
continued to play.
One scripture moved me from anxiety to peace. What if I
had not known that scripture? Would it have made that
verse any less true? No. My having memorized a verse or
entire passage is not what determines its power, but it
does determine how useful that verse or passage is to me
during my need.
One of the nests I saw was very deep. I would imagine
that a bird could rest in the bottom of that without
even getting a ruffled feather. Whereas, the other nests
were shallow, so the eddies near the top might create a
chilly draft. If we want a refuge where even drafts
don’t bother us, we have to build big. When I was a
child, I memorized John 3:16, and that really helped me
through a lot. When I experienced serious complications
with both my pregnancies, John 3:16 didn’t help me at
all. Thankfully, there were numerous other scriptures
that encouraged me and kept me at peace. Again, if I had
not known those scriptures, they would still have been
as true and powerful, but my knowing them allowed the
power to pour into my life. Being content to only know a
handful of verses when we have such a great wealth of
truth available to us is as logical as using cornstalk
for protection in a hailstorm when a fortress stands
with its gate open for us to enter.
The storm is coming. Maybe you are already in the middle
of it, and the wind and rain are beating on you. It’s
not too late to find refuge, nor is it too late to build
on to the refuge you have. The Lord is waiting for you.
He is a refuge to all who trust in Him (Nahum 1:7).
Don’t be unnerved by the whistling wind and pounding
hail. Just curl up in your refuge with a Good Book.
Whatever the storm holds, you can trust Him to take care
of you because He has said He will, and He always keeps
His Word.
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