True Refuge

There are many dangers in life.
Sin has eroded life and caused great troubles in this world.
Just last week, in the city in which I live, the parents of a small family lost their lives as a husband took his wife's life and then his own. I also heard of a schoolteacher being charged for inappropriate behavior with a student. More than that, my good friend's dad had a triple bypass surgery, my own daughter has a heart condition, and my dad has cancer. Today my coworker also told me that he was going to Minnesota because his family member died. And this little list only covers the physical aspect of life.
More could be said of hatred among neighbors, jealousy between lovers, slander against friends, and even gossip amidst the dearest of grandmas. 
There are many dangers in life.
We must ask what real refuge looks like. 
Indeed, a man or woman may be able to avoid being murdered and even avoid inappropriate teachers. They might be able to stay clear of greasy food and live a bit longer with a healthier heart.
Yet have they truly found refuge?
Even if a person does have success in dodging these things, something else will overtake them. There's no true refuge when everyone faces the same end. The world's refuge is likened to cough drops for the common cold; they help for a little while, at least until the next cold. 
 What is true refuge?
 Psalm 34:8 says,
"Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him." 
According to this, refuge is tied to the fact that God is good. It says that we must "taste and see." Many people ask, "If God is good, why is there so much evil?" They see the world, where finding true refuge seems impossible, and conclude that this gives evidence against God's goodness. Yet what God called good in the first chapter of Genesis was a world without sin and death. It was in chapter three of Genesis when evil entered the picture, and this was because men thought true refuge was found in their own ability and their own desire to be their own god. When men chose to be their own god, they forfeited all rights to true protection. 
Protection was found in the good and unhindered relationship with God. It was found in the goodness of God. The serpent deceived the woman into questioning God's goodness and in doing so, all of humanity was left in the grasp of death and insecurity.
Genesis 3:7 says,
"Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths."
All refuge vanished. Even between one another.
The ability to drink deeply of the reality of God's goodness has been hijacked by Satan from men and women. The offer now is just "taste and see." It's a plea to simply stick out your tongue and just taste God's goodness once again. Let the water of life drip onto your tongue and let your eyes spring open. Let the deception and darkness flee and let faith and refuge become your dearest friends. 
One may ask, where do I find this water? What can I look to in order to catch a glimpse of this goodness? Where is true refuge?
The answer is the cross, my friend. 
The place where Christ paid for all the sin that threatened to separate men from the goodness and refuge of God. For the world, refuge seems absent. But for the Christian, the cross is where Christ stood in your place. It is where his act to protect you was laid out for all to see. The world's refuge is grounded on their own ability and might which have no power to conquer death or free them from sins curse. But Christ' work has done everything that we could never do on our own. The cross is where he showed you and I the love of the Father and where all of Satan's lies were proven wrong. In Christ we find true refuge and all the security we will ever need. 
God is good, my friend. He is very good.