The Wonder of the Cross – 40 Days with the Music of Vicky Beeching
Day 33 – Friday after Lent 5 – Refuge
To Read:
From the Scriptures:
But now thus says the Lord,
he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel:
‘Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by name; you are mine.
2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you,
and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;
when you walk through fire you shall not be burned,
and the flame shall not consume you.
3 For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.
I give Egypt as your ransom, Cush and Seba in exchange for you.
4 Because you are precious in my sight and honoured and I love you,
I give people in return for you, nations in exchange for your life.
5 Do not fear, for I am with you;
I will bring your offspring from the east, and from the west I will gather you;
6 I will say to the north, “Give them up,” and to the south, “Do not withhold;
bring my sons from far away and my daughters from the end of the earth –
7 everyone who is called by my name,
whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.’
(Isaiah 43v1-7)
From Vicky Beeching:
Refuge
Though I walk through waters
They won’t overwhelm me
Though I stand in fire
I won’t be consumed
Though I walk through valleys
With darkness all around me
I lift my eyes to You
You are my refuge
You are my hiding place
You are my shelter
Where I am finally safe
In the shadow of Your mighty wings
Forever I’ll sing that it’s true
My refuge is in You
Everywhere You send me
Angels will defend me
Guarding me from danger
And every snare
Though the battle’s fierce
I know that You are near
So I put my trust in You
Chorus
Even in the darkness
I will lift Your name up
Though my heart is breaking
Still I will sing (repeats)
Chorus
My refuge is in You
To Listen: Refuge by Vicky Beeching
To Reflect:
In your childhood did you have a hiding place? A place where no one could find you when playing games of ‘Hide and Seek’. A place where you could go and curl up with a book or a comic – my favourite was The Eagle – and not be disturbed by mum or pesky siblings. Living mostly in port towns my younger brother and I, after having done our chores, used to escape with a box of matches and a couple of sausages to an abandoned place such as Fort Brockhurst[1]. There we would light a small fire to roast our sausages on sticks, and come home later in the evening, tired, dirty, and replete with life.
As we grow and gain life experiences the secret places where we used go to hide, (but hopefully be found in time for Tea), change. Yes, I hope we all have iconic buildings such as Fort Blockhouse as visible signs of refuge within whose walls we are safe. But with Peter Pan we realise once again that growing up is a trap. We have too few places to go where we can hide and plays games of Cowboys and Indians, swim with mermaids, or defeat villainous pirates.
Where do we find refuge then? Earlier this Lent I mentioned the Nuns of Brede Abbey and their regular use of a ‘Trysting Place’ to which they could flee during times when they were having a personal ‘monsoon’. And if we have such a place we are blessed – mine is on the Isle of Bute just off the mainland at Clydemouth. The physical word may be able provide shelter from wind and wave but it does little to protect us from the storms of life.
Not all of us follow a vocation where time apart for quiet and reflection is part of your Role Description. Not all of us have families who understand that we need to spend time alone with our Beloved so that we can be more present to them. It remains a truism that ‘Seven days without prayer makes one weak…’ When the monsoon of life, and our not always perfect response to it, blows what are we to do? Where are we to hide?
We find our refuge not in a place – for they change, as do we, and their touch on us becomes less powerful and healing than it was.
We find our refuge not even in church – for, though we find fellowship there, it too will not always be able to provide weal for all of our woe.
We find our refuge in a person.
Our Beloved, like a mother hen (Luke 13v33-35), gathering her frightened and wilful chicks, brings us under the shelter of love even whilst facing death for our sake. How can we not run towards such love?
We can’t always have the physical ‘Hiding Places’[2] that wonderful saints such as Corrie Ten Boom have provided for people fleeing all sorts of pain and persecution, but we do have our Beloved with whom;
…I am finally safe
In the shadow of Your mighty wings
Forever I’ll sing that it’s true
My refuge is in You
To Pray:
And if still I cannot find Thee, O God,
then let me search my heart and know
whether it is not rather I who am blind
than Thou who art obscure,
and I who am fleeing from Thee
rather than Thou from me;
and let me confess these my sins before Thee
and seek Thy pardon in Jesus Christ my Lord.
(John Baillie – A Diary of Private Prayer)
To Do:
Today:
Plan your places and times of prayer to be with the One Who Loves us Best during Holy Week.
Sometime:
Read ‘The Hiding Place’ by Corrie Ten Boom.
As you read:
Give thanks for personal places of refuge.
Pray if there are some people or causes for
which you can offer a refuge
oooOOOooo
If you would like to find out more about Vicky and her work here is a link to her Wikipedia entry. For a fuller picture her autobiography ‘Undivided’ is highly recommended
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Acknowledgements:
These Reflections, ‘The Wonder of the Cross – 40 Days with the Music of Vicky Beaching’ are copyright © Andrew Dotchin 2026 and may be reproduced without charge on condition that their source is acknowledged.
All of the music on the video clips are from YouTube and are © Vicky Beeching.
If you enjoy listening to her songs please consider buying her recordings. A full discography and other information about Vicky can be found on her website vickybeeching.com.
Scripture quotations are from The New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Prayers are from A Diary of Prayer compiled by Elizabeth Goudge and are copyright © 1966 The Estate of Elizabeth Goudge.
[1] Now in the care of English Heritage in a previous era was a place full of magic and wonder and ‘pirates’ for two Dotchin boys. Find out more here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Brockhurst
[2] For a synopsis of her book and a short biography read: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hiding_Place_(biography)
Suffolk Vicar 