We all go through events in our lives where we cry out to God for help, and for protection. Those events could be significant illness in ourselves, family or friends. Or it could be the loss of a job. It could be the loss or destruction of a house/vehicle. Or it could be an attack on our faith and reputation within the wider community.
We can try to navigate our way through those difficult times, and sometimes we prevail and make it through to the other side off of our own strength and abilities. But there are times when the storm that rages around us is too much for us to cope with, too strong for us to resist, and too weighty for us to bear. It is in those times that we need to desperately cling to God (Yahweh) as our refuge and our strength.
Throughout his lifetime, King David was no stranger to such situations. He experienced some of the most tragic and traumatic events a person can experience. And it is in the midst of those trials and struggles that he reached out in faith and in hope to his saviour - the Great I AM - Yahweh.
Psalm 31 is yet another blessed example of the expression his faith and hope. So, let’s go have a look at it shall we…
Psalm 31 - a psalm of David says…
Verses 1-4: “In you, Lord, I have taken refuge; let me never be put to shame; deliver me in your righteousness. Turn your ear to me, come quickly to my rescue; be my rock of refuge, a strong fortress to save me. Since you are my rock and my fortress, for the sake of your name lead and guide me. Keep me free from the trap that is set for me, for you are my refuge."
These first few verses of Psalm 31 are powerful and deeply meaningful. They paint a picture of someone who is under great oppression from enemies and life’s circumstances. It is the cry of someone who wants protection from those very same things - things that threaten to consume and destroy him. In this way, many of us are seeking the very same thing. We could be facing opposition from people at work, in the community or from within our own family. Or we could be facing financial, physical/health, emotional or relationship difficulties.
Whatever we are facing - we need somewhere to go to feel safe, to feel secure, and to feel protected from the things that afflict us.
In this psalm, David directly links the concepts of refuge and of a fortress to God (Yahweh). And if we consider our lives, and if you have lived long enough - you know that this world and all that it offers cannot protect us. Nor is it a refuge. Think about it - the very thing that is working against you to bring you down and overcome you will not protect you. It’s like going to a murderer who is out to kill you for protection.
Yahweh is our ONLY source of protection and security - all else is folly!!!!
Here’s something that most of us fail to understand…
Fortresses are useless as a sanctuary if you are not being attacked and surrounded. Fortresses are only a refuge if you are being attacked and surrounded by enemies. So, if God (Yahweh) is our refuge and our fortress - HE is going to be present in whatever struggle you are facing.
In our times of trouble it still needs to be our choice for us to seek out God (Yahweh) for refuge. HE is there waiting for us to enter into HIS rest, HIS refuge - but HE will not force us to come to HIM. It is fully our choice to seek HIM out in our times of trouble.
Verse 5: "Into your hands I commit my spirit; deliver me, Lord, my faithful God."Does this sound familiar???
It should… Jesus repeats these very words as HE hung dying on the cross as read in Luke 23:46. “Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” When he had said this, he breathed his last.”
This is something that we need to consider - and maybe even pray to God (Yahweh) the same prayer. When we are facing circumstances that threaten to consume us (maybe even cause us to die), we need to lift up this same prayer to God. This prayer links our future to the will of God, and not our own understanding and effort. If we commit our spirit to HIM, then HE is there to protect us, and if its HIS will to usher us into HIS presence for eternity.
Verses 6-8: “I hate those who cling to worthless idols; as for me, I trust in the Lord. I will be glad and rejoice in your love, for you saw my affliction and knew the anguish of my soul. You have not given me into the hands of the enemy but have set my feet in a spacious place.”
Idolatry is more than bowing to some statue or shrine. Idolatry is living a life where things are placed in higher regard than God is. Idols are linked to whatever we spend the majority of our lives focussing on. It could be leisure time, or pleasure, it could be wealth, it could be material things like houses and cars, it could be family, it could be fame, it can be our intelligence or skills, it could even be a hobby or a sport. If it takes over your life, and takes your focus and energy away from Jesus, then it’s an idol.
To place our trust in anything other that God is foolishness. Our trust MUST be fully centred on God.
God does see our afflictions, and HE hears our pain filled cries. Even in the midst of this we need to rejoice in what God is and what HE does for us - it is imperative that we worship HIM and ONLY HIM!!!
Verses 9-10: “Be merciful to me, Lord, for I am in distress; my eyes grow weak with sorrow, my soul and body with grief. My life is consumed by anguish and my years by groaning; my strength fails because of my affliction, and my bones grow weak.”Oh, how some of us resonate and completely understand these words!!!
In these verses, David is crying out in utter despair and utter agony. Physically and emotionally he is being afflicted, and for a man who has been involved in physical work, or battle hardened, the one who slew giants - it is soul destroying. And that is something that I (and possibly you) understand. I’ve been that guy, the one whose done physical work, is a hard worker, my whole life - and now that I am on the cusp of 50, the wheels are falling off this mortal body in rapid succession. David’s cry to Yahweh, is my cry.
We need to start off with the same words as David - “Be merciful to me YHVH (LORD)…” - this should be our starting place when we face the same afflictions in our minds, in our bodies and by extension - our souls.
Continually fighting chronic illness and pain is wearying, like soul draining wearying…and our only refuge is found in God.
Verses 11-13: “Because of all my enemies, I am the utter contempt of my neighbours and an object of dread to my closest friends— those who see me on the street flee from me. I am forgotten as though I were dead; I have become like broken pottery. For I hear many whispering, “Terror on every side!” They conspire against me and plot to take my life.”Traumatic abandonment or opposition is something that we will all face at some point in our lives. At some point, those close to us will leave us to fulfil their own selfish desires. At some point those that we thought were friends and allies become our enemies and align themselves against us.
This is not a foreign concept to God…in fact, Jesus faced all of these same things during HIS lifetime and HIS ministry. If we are to carry our own cross to follow Jesus - then abandonment and having other become traitors against us should be seen as something to be expected, not something that is unexpected.
There are multiple scriptures in both the Old and New Testaments that note that God will “Never leave nor forsake us!” - this is a messed hope and truth that should give us courage to stand in the face of adversity. In fact Romans 8:31 informs us that “What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?”
Verses 14-18 “But I trust in you, Lord; I say, “You are my God.” My times are in your hands; deliver me from the hands of my enemies, from those who pursue me. Let your face shine on your servant; save me in your unfailing love.Let me not be put to shame, Lord, for I have cried out to you; but let the wicked be put to shame and be silent in the realm of the dead. Let their lying lips be silenced, for with pride and contempt they speak arrogantly against the righteous.”Trust….it’s such an easy word to throw around, and its true meaning isn’t what we use it for these days. These days we equate trust with knowledge that something will live up to expectations - known expectations that are grounded in fact, which is in turn built on experience.
For instance: We trust that the seatbelts and airbags in our vehicles are going to work during a crash - thereby protecting us.
However, trust in the Bible - particularly in the Old Testament relates to ‘faith’ - and faith is a completely different concept to the modern concept of trust. Hebrews 11:1 sums it up for us by stating that… “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.”
When we ‘trust’ God (Yahweh), we are placing our faith in HIM in matters and a future that we cannot see occurring. This is not the modern concept of faith, which hinges on a known outcome. When our lives are a mess, and everything around us is falling apart or growing dark in the midst of a storm it is hard to see God working and it is even harder to believe that things can possibly get any better. Trusting God is to place our circumstances in HIS hands and to leave them there - and having the faith that HE will act on our behalf and for our good.
Verses 19-22 “How abundant are the good things that you have stored up for those who fear you, that you bestow in the sight of all, on those who take refuge in you. In the shelter of your presence you hide them from all human intrigues; you keep them safe in your dwelling from accusing tongues. Praise be to the Lord, for he showed me the wonders of his love when I was in a city under siege. In my alarm I said, “I am cut off from your sight!” Yet you heard my cry for mercy when I called to you for help.”God desire to bless us, in both this life and the next. If we continue to seek HIM as our only source of refuge during times of struggle and strife then HE will bless us. It is in HIS presence that we are sheltered and hidden. It is in HIS presence that we are comforted and encouraged. There is nothing that this world offers that even compares to this.
God hears our cries for help…that alone should be a source of courage and comfort to us while we are struggling.
Verses 23-24: “Love the Lord, all his faithful people! The Lord preserves those who are true to him, but the proud he pays back in full. Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the Lord.”Here in this final couple of verses of the psalm, David implores the believers to hold tightly to God (Yahweh), to place our hope in HIM. In doing so we shall be strengthened, we shall be preserved. It is a timely reminder for us. A reminder that no matter what we are going through, no matter what present and future we may face - if we are true to God, if we are faithful to HIM, and we place our hope and our trust in HIM - then HE will be there for us.
And that is all we truly need!!!
I hope and pray that no matter what you are struggling through at the moment - be it health issues, be it relationship break-down, be it financial hardships, be it opposition to taking a stand for Jesus - that you cling desperately and tightly to HIM who is your refuge and your fortress. HE purposefully places HIMSELF in your circumstances to be a place of solace and a place of safety for you to retreat into. I pray that HIS presence fills your spirit and your life.
Remember that “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.” Psalm 23:4.
May Yahweh be with you and alongside you…may HE bless you and strengthen you for the days to come.