Today's sermon topic was Psalm 57. And the speaker (some special speaker from the Dallas Theological Seminary since our pastor was out of town) posed the simple question: What does it mean to take refuge in the Lord?
He exposited Psalm 57 beautifully and it resonated with me quite deeply. It was what my spirit, soul, and mind needed to hear at the moment.
Psalm 57 is another lament psalm.
v. 1-4 is the lament with a little bit of confidence
v. 5 and 11 are refrains
v. 5-10 is the praise with a little bit of lament
And really, this psalm is more about David's confidence in God amidst his trouble and lament. How can David have confidence? Because of the grace of God and his trust in Him. And what does it mean to trust in Him?
That means to stay in the cave when Saul passes outside. (I Sam 22)
Stay in the cave when Saul enters the cave (I Sam 24).
Should I deliver myself? David could have taken things into his own hands. I am often given the choice to take things into my own hands. Especially in times of trial. There are lots of ways I can provide a way out for myself. And yet, that is not trusting in the Lord and that is not taking refuge in Him.
Taking refuge in God is taking refuge in God's plan. It doesn't mean that all of a sudden you're in a safe place and the enemy can't get to you. What it does mean is that all of a sudden, you have a God who is greater than your troubles. When you leave things in God's hands, you're taking refuge in the Lord. You move away from the struggle. Psalm 57 is a model and contains a promise more than anything else.
Here's what else is a model and a promise.
Did Jesus Christ take refuge in God? Yes, of course He did. And what happened to Him? The cross. Jesus was abandoned at the cross: "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?" (Matt 27:46, Mk 15:34). And yet, Deut 31:6,8 says God will never leave us nor forsake us. In our times of trouble, struggle and deep pain, it will seem as if God has abandoned us to the lions, the wolves. We are forced to dwell among man-eating beasts! (Psa 57:4). My God, My God! Why have you forsaken me???.
But He didn't forsake us.
He didn't forsake Jesus. He raised Jesus from the dead 3 days later! Praise God! Amen!
And I am able to take refuge in Him because of His overwhelming GRACE. Thank You God!
Taking refuge in Him...this is something that has given my spirit great encouragement, confidence, and strength to persevere.
I hope this entry is an encouragement for you as well.
I will stay in the cave though the lion who is looking to devour has entered my cave. I will stay and watch as God does what He has always done: Deliver me.
The speaker mentioned an observation from the LOTR while he was preaching that I thought was quite insightful so I will mention it as well.
"You can always choose to get involved in an adventure but you can't choose what it's going to cost."
"It's not an adventure until the end. In the middle, it's a catastrophe."
Food for thought =).
I loved the entry, but the last line, the food for thought, sums up all of the emotions end experiences in less than 10 words. I want to post that quote right now. Man that just hit me hard.
ReplyDeleteAww Maya!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad it was good for you cause I'm going through it too. I keep on coming back to this entry and reading it for myself to remind myself over and over again.
I wrote the entry more so for myself actually. Cause I knew that I needed to write it down so that I could refer to it over and over. This entry continues to give me hope, to tell me promises, to encourage me, and definitely to give me strength and peace above all.
Love ya!