Where is your ark?

When you are in trouble, when you are scared and feeling a little bit lost, where do you go? Where is your refuge? When a flood swept the earth Noah and those with faith, sought refuge in an ark. Where is your ark?

By Yemti Harry Ndienla

Maybe your refuge is your partner or spouse or a solitary spot where you feel secure. Maybe your refuge is your Church building: God’s house.
Floods happen in our own personal lives: Things go wrong, sometimes through our own bad choices, sometimes not.
There are days when the rain never seems to stop pouring in our hearts. And if there is no refuge, if there is no place to feel safe, it is quite possible we might just drown.
The story of Noah’s Ark was intended to show us that God is our refuge and stronghold and that the floods that come our way are God’s way of cleansing us and drawing us closer to him.

Noah’s Ark: that big wooden boat was a prefiguring of Jesus. The Ark was a symbol of the Jesus that is to come. Well Jesus has come and He is here.
During this period of Lent in some ways we take ourselves out into the desert. But we are not taking ourselves away from Jesus. On the contrary we are taking time to ask ourselves “where is my refuge?”

All the Lenten penances you might take on, like giving up candy or alcohol or eating less, you do it so that you may find your refuge and find it in Christ.
Our cleansing during Lent involves taking ourselves away from the clutter of our life and dwell for a while in that ark which brings us protection, strength and hope, Jesus is that ark.

For your reflection:
Do you feel the need to retreat a little from your life?
When you need to find Jesus, where do you go?
After you have prayed do you feel peaceful or anxious?