Native Americans built massive dwellings in shallow natural caves in cliffs or under cliff overhangs in southwestern United States. Some villages, built in the face of the cliff, couldn’t be reached from above. The people used ladders to climb up to their homes and pulled the ladders up with them so they couldn’t be used by marauding bands that roamed the area.


Cliff dwellings were made of flat sandstone blocks bound in clay mortar and placed high on the cliff face above a waterway. Within their refuge, the people could cook, care for their children, and carry on many of the activities of their village. There was safety in their refuge.


Like those ancient civilizations in the cliffs, we are safe in the Lord because of Jesus, our spiritual assurance. What brings us panic in life cannot ultimately harm us. He is our refuge. John 3:16 tells us of God’s love and Jesus’ sacrifice: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”