My Stronghold and Refuge

David said the words of this song to Adonai on the day Adonai delivered him from the power of all his enemies and from the power of Saul. He said:

“Adonai is my Rock, my fortress and deliverer,
3 the God who is my Rock, in whom I find shelter,
my shield, the power that saves me,
my stronghold and my refuge.
My savior, you have saved me from violence.
4 I call on Adonai, who is worthy of praise;
and I am saved from my enemies." - 2 Samuel 22:2-4

There are 2 interesting words that stand out from these reading today.

Stronghold - this is a place that is difficult for our enemies to access. In David's time this would have been a physical place, but it can also be a spiritual castle. God is our Stronghold!

Refuge - this is obviously a place of safety and where we can escape to. This place offers us a chance to hide away, but also to recoup and gather our strength for the next battle ahead. 

May God be your Stronghold and Refuge today. 

Living in Grace

D3LM3

Hiding from God?

Genesis 3:8 - Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden.

What makes us hide from the Lord?

In the Genesis account we see that for Adam and Eve it was their shame and fear of what the Lord would say about their sin. For us it could be many things, but we still often try to hide from God, when we choose to go our own way.

Thought: Perhaps we should not be hiding from God, but rather hiding in God.

"Those who live in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty." - Psalm 91:1

Living in Grace

D3LM3

Remembering God through the night

"On my bed I remember you; I think of you through the watches of the night. Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings." - Psalm 63:6-7

The first impression I get from these verses is of David struggling to sleep. As he lies awake at night - perhaps fearing for his life or just thinking about his troubles, so he turns to God. He remembers God and that God has been with him in the past. We also know that the 'night' was considered to a symbol of evil and the demonic world, so David allows his thoughts to turn to God in these dark times, rather than dwell on the evil around him.

The picture of a tiny bird singing in the shelter of her mother's wings comes to my mind as I read through the second part of the passage. The chick is vulnerable and afraid, yet it is able to sing because it has the reassurance of its mother close by. 

How does this make you feel at the moment? Can you relate in anyway?

Eugene Peterson paraphrases these verses in this way:

If I’m sleepless at midnight,
    I spend the hours in grateful reflection.
Because you’ve always stood up for me,
    I’m free to run and play.

Living in Grace

D3LM3

Taking refuge

Augustine wrote a beautiful prayer, which is recorded in a collection entitled Little Book of Prayers. I pass it onto you and pray that it may bless you today.

"Father, you are full of compassion, I commit and commend myself unto you, in whom I am,
and live, and know. Be the GOAL of my pilgrimage, and my REST by the way.
Let my soul take refuge from the crowding turmoil of worldly thoughts beneath the shadow of your wings; Let my heart, this sea of restless waves, find peace in you, O God. Amen."

Psalm 91:1 - Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”

May you find your refuge in the shelter of the most high.

Living in Grace

D3LM3

The Canopy

                                                             

The scriptures capture some beautiful images of God's love and protection for all God's children. Isaiah is one of those prophets who used many creative 'pictures' to share the message of God's mercy with the Israelites. Reading through Isaiah 4, I came to these verses which I want to share with you today:

"Then the Lord will create over all of Mount Zion and over those who assemble there a cloud of smoke by day and a glow of flaming fire by night; over everything the glory will be a canopy. It will be a shelter and shade from the heat of the day, and a refuge and hiding place from the storm and rain."

What do you think of that? 

I love the image of the canopy - God's glory will be like a canopy protecting us from the sun (heat) and hiding place protecting us from the storms of life.

"If you look at the world, you'll be distressed. If you look within, you'll be depressed. If you look at God you'll be at rest." - Corrie Ten Boom

Living in Grace

D3LM3

The Tree

The other day I noticed a car had crashed into a tree along the sidewalk. Everyone seemed to be fine in the vehicle, but the car was not! Later that day, I passed by the same spot and saw that the car had been towed away and that the tree still stood firm and strong - it was like nothing had bashed into it.

This whole picture reminded me that God is like aTree -  strong and secure. When we embrace the good news of Jesus, we get to rest in the shadow of the TREE.

Matthew 13:32 -  "It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.”

The trees of the Lord are watered abundantly, the cedars of Lebanon that he planted. - Psalm 104

The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and whoever captures souls is wise. - Proverbs 11:30

May you rest in the strength of the TREE today.

Living in Grace
D3LM3

The Heat saps our strength

Wherever you are in the world right now, tell me what's the temperature? If you are in the Northern Hemisphere then you are probably enjoying a cool spell. In Pietermaritzburg we have been frying over the last week. Temperatures have been soaring into the upper 30's, with the humidity taking this nearer 40 degrees - it is hectic.

The one thing that heat does, is that it saps all our strength. One just feels lethargic and unable to do the things you would like to. David understood our situation well...

Psalm 32:4 - "...my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer."

I think LIFE can be a lot like the heat that drains us. Life can drain us too. Situations we face can caused us to feel emotional/spiritually drained. It is like we have no respite from the heat - Life just bears down on us.

The good news is that Christ offers us some shelter from the heat - Jesus promises to be our shade and protection. Psalm 121:5...

"The Lord watches over you— the Lord is your shade at your right hand;"

And in the end of it all, there will be no heat what-so-ever. Awesome news!

Revelation 7:16 - ‘Never again will they hunger; never again will they thirst. The sun will not beat down on them,’ nor any scorching heat.'

Living in Grace
D3LM3

A Shelter - Lent 9

 
"The Lord is a shelter for the oppressed,
    a refuge in times of trouble.
Those who know your name trust in you,    for you, O Lord, do not abandon those who search for you." - Psalm 9: 9-10

We will  all need to take shelter from something at some point in our lives. It may be the pouring rain, the blazing sun or even a sandstorm on the beach. A Shelter is a gift in the time of need and God is willing to be that Shelter for us. 

You may have noticed that I used the picture of a bus stop, for a shelter. I like this image, because it reminds me that even though God will always be my shelter, it is never God's intention that we stop the journey. God has called us to keep 'walking in faith' - He will be my shelter whenever and wherever I need, but I MUST keeping going.

May you find peace in the shelter of God's grace.

Living in Grace
D3LM3