Our Refuge

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Scripture
 
Psa. 16:0   A Miktam of David.
1     Protect me, O God, for in you I take refuge.
2     I say to the LORD, “You are my Lord;
        I have no good apart from you.”

Observation

When everything seems to be closing in, the Psalmist seeks refuge in the only place where it can truly be found — in God. The Hebrew word used here for God is El — and the same word that Jesus Christ used for God when crying out to him from the cross. It’s a cry for the Almighty God, and Omnipotent helper of his people to respond.  But this safety and security can only be found when we seek for it in God. In our times of suffering God, our refuge, conveys to us the promise of our eternal hope which is in him.

The Psalmist confirms his trust in the LORD. We have the promise of our Lord, Jesus Christ and he is the good. There is no good apart from the one who is good. We lean into the future which we have with God and in return we do not need to fear the present. God as our refuge remains our bodyguard, protecting us on all sides from the power of evil.

Application
 
Pain, suffering and evil, it all seems to surround us. This day is filled with news that is devastating to the soul and makes us realize that there is so little in this world in which we may place our trust. But maybe that’s what we must face in order to realize that we have been seeking refuge in all the wrong places. Let’s be honest, it’s not until we have been stripped of all that makes us feel secure that we recognize our incredible deep need for God. It is in David’s cry for protection that he is protected. It is in his cry that he declares the truth of his relationship with God and that there is no good apart from the Lord.

We have nothing apart from the good which is found in God. Nothing else can satisfy. Every system in this world will eventually let us down. People will let us down. The church will let us down. It is not until we sit in humble submission at the foot of the cross looking upon the face of our Savior, crying out to God the omnipotent helper, that we see the pathway to refuge opened before us. When we dwell in that place of refuge then God, our bodyguard, surrounds us on all sides, helping us maneuver through everything that the world throws our way.

Let me be clear, this doesn’t mean that we avoid what is happening in our world. Instead, we respond by trusting in God,  and responding out of that place of refuge. The place of refuge gives us the humble courage to respond with the heart of Christ without fear of what others may say or do to you.
Protection comes when we cry to the Lord for refuge. Thanks be to God.

Prayer
 
Lord, I pray that you help me to seek you and your refuge today. I pray for those who are suffering in so many ways from acts of violence, racism and emotional struggle. Please, help us to know how to respond as your people, not hiding from the pain, but traversing through it as you hold us in your hand. Amen.

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