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Day 2: The Refugee Experience

Prayer: Father in heaven, I yield my heart and mind to you. Please help me understand your perspective of refugees and know how you want me to respond.

“We don’t know where we are headed to.” -a refugee mother

Unlike migrants who set out for a new country with a vision of a better life, refugees are people fleeing present danger with the simple aim of finding safety and peace.

From the story of Adam and Eve in Genesis, to the Revelation recorded by the Apostle John while in exile on the Isle of Patmos, the Bible is filled with stories of forcibly displaced people. Moses fled into the desert to escape Pharaoh’s wrath. David was forced to flee Israel and seek safety in desert places because Saul was bent on having him killed. Esther, Daniel and Nehemiah were among the Jewish exiles of their day, forced to leave their country and live in foreign empires. Jesus himself escaped to Egypt when King Herod sought his death.

Have you ever wondered what it is like to be a refugee? Today’s reading is from an oft-overlooked Psalm near the middle of the Bible that describes the experience of many refugees both then and now.

How does the Psalmist describe the refugee experience? How do you think this description compares to the experience of refugees in the world today? How does the Psalmist describe God’s response to the cries of refugees? How do you think God wants us to respond to the needs and cries of refugees?

Click here to learn more about Refugees in the Bible.