Refuge
By
Tracy Smith
“The
Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my Savior; my God is my rock, in whom I
find protection. He is my shield, the power that saves me, and my place of
safety.”
Psalm 18:2 (NIV)
As I reflect on the
year and what aspect of God was revealed to me most often, I would have to say
“God as my refuge.”
When I was 17, I was
diagnosed with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD). While it was good to have a
name/reason for the intrusive thoughts and behaviors that had plagued me for
the past eight years, it was also scary, since there is no “cure” for OCD… only
management.
Through the years, the
symptoms have waxed and waned. Sometimes the OCD is only there in the
background and not interfering with my life, and sometimes it is there 24/7,
pounding at me mercilessly.
Early in 2011, I was
asked to speak to a group of women about my OCD - - what it had taught me about
God. That was a frightening thing for me as OCD is not something
that I have shared about easily, so very few people in my world were aware that
I had it. However, I had been praying for years for God to use my OCD in some
way for good and for Him, so I knew my answer had to be “yes.”
Immediately after
saying “yes,” the spiritual warfare hit and my OCD symptoms skyrocketed into
“very interfering” territory. In the months that followed, I learned that I
could always count on God to be the refuge and place of safety that David wrote
about in Psalm 18. I was able to wield the tools in my spiritual armor
(Ephesians 6:10-18) more effectively than ever before. I had true friends I
could talk to and a mentor/friend who prayed me through some of my most
difficult days. I have a family that loves me enough to tell me the truth even
when it's hard to hear. God gave me just what I needed (in so many ways), so
while the storm raged around me, I was able to be anchored to Him. Isn't it
just like our God to give me a new lesson to share with others?
With the Christmas
season ending and the new year
beginning, I am so thankful that our Lord chose to become human and that
His sacrifice provided a way for restoration of the relationship between God
and us. God as my refuge - - I wonder what aspect of God will be revealed to me
in 2014?
GOING DEEPER:
1. What attribute of
God have you seen most clearly in your own life this past year?
2. What can you do to
be ready for what He’ll show you in this upcoming year?
FURTHER READING:
Along
with being a wife and mother to two boys, Tracy is an administrative assistant
at Oakwood, and leads a great group of Junior High girls.
