Safe. Joyful. Peaceful. Restful. Not words we would use to describe feelings associated with the journey of loving and praying for a prodigal. We might use words like tumultuous, dangerous, frightening, dark, sad, and unnerving, and sometimes we just need a retreat, a place to which to run.

The Lord is our safe place, our refuge, our retreat in this difficult journey.

“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble” (Psalm 46:1 KJV). We are definitely “in trouble”—right smack dab in the middle of trouble—but our hope for safety is in the presence of our Lord. In His presence, everything is good, praiseworthy, and perfect—safe. There is no evil, conflict, darkness, or anything else we might face in the middle of this journey. Instead, there is peace and rest and safety, and even joy and pleasure. He is our refuge from this very difficult journey, our place to which to run.

There are times I come to the Lord in prayer when I feel the trouble and truly want to skip the coming into “His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise.” Being “thankful to Him, and [blessing] His name” in those times is a struggle (Psalm 100:4 NKJV). What I really want to do is skip to the part where I am “casting all [my] care upon Him” (1 Peter 5:7). However, what I find when I begin with thanksgiving and praise is that His presence draws near, and He gives me understanding of who He is and His sovereignty and trustworthiness through it all. Then my cares can be cast from a heart of faith and trust.

As for the times when being in His presence is difficult at first, because sin is revealed in us and we feel conviction, we repent and receive forgiveness. Then the atmosphere changes into a place the presence of the Lord can truly saturate, a presence where there “is fullness of joy,” a “fullness of joy” that is thorough and complete, leaving no room for anything that interferes with joy; “At [His] right hand are pleasures forevermore” (Psalm 16:11). There is no turmoil or strife. Healing and hope happen, and we can truly experience “pleasures forevermore.”

When all is clear between the Lord and me, when no sin is separating us, and I thank Him for what I’ve witnessed that He has done and the promised things I’ve not yet seen, and I praise Him for who He is, His presence is evident, palpable. I feel safe, loved, heard, seen, protected, and answered, with a knowing that He has it all and that I can trust Him with it all. His presence changes me and changes my perspective. It is a joyful thing. It is a beautiful thing.

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