Our Refuge in Christ

​Psalm 57:1 ~ “Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me, for in you my soul takes refuge; in the shadow of your wings I will take refuge, till the storms of destruction pass by.”
 
I am certain that everyone who reads this understands the peril of being caught in a storm. Howling winds and driving rain, with lightning flashing and thunders rolling across the earth, a person feels completely helpless under such power. Shelter is desperately needed when a storm rages. But where is a person to find refuge when the storms assail? An example of this is Paul as he sailed across the Mediterranean Sea. Acts 27:18-20 give the picture, “Since we were violently storm-tossed, they began the next day to jettison the cargo. And on the third day they threw the ship's tackle overboard with their own hands. When neither sun nor stars appeared for many days, and no small tempest lay on us, all hope of our being saved was at last abandoned.” You may be in a storm right now. Circumstances might stand hard against you and you find that there are no shelters available from the world around you. Dear saint, there is a refuge in Christ.
 
David fled for his life from King Saul. 1 Samuel 19:11-12 reveals, “Saul sent messengers to David's house to watch him, that he might kill him in the morning. But Michal, David's wife, told him, ‘If you do not escape with your life tonight, tomorrow you will be killed.’ So Michal let David down through the window, and he fled away and escaped.” David’s circumstances had turned into a hurricane of danger, as the wrath of the king of Israel was bent upon destroying the one God had selected to be the next king of the nation. The only hope was to run. And our text today is the cry of David’s heart when he fled.
 
The first thing to take note of is this: David never dismissed the danger that swirled around him. He recognized the reality of his situation. There are some who see the danger and then, foolishly, presume upon the LORD to merely turn it aside or prevent it from falling upon them. But God Almighty has not promised a life without difficulty. In fact, just the opposite is true. Jesus told us in Mark 13:13, “And you will be hated by all for my name's sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.” Again, Jesus says in Matthew 10:23, “When they persecute you in one town, flee to the next, for truly, I say to you, you will not have gone through all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.” What David did in our text today was cry out to the God of mercy. We read, “Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me, for in you my soul takes refuge.” This is where we must also turn. Let us first and foremost seek the God of mercy. We cry out to the LORD for mercy from our trials, and then we must trust that the LORD who sees all things will do for us exactly what He has deemed to be the best. He did not deliver David right away, for David remained hidden from Saul, hiding out in the country and was constantly on the run. Yet David did not relinquish his confidence in the LORD. He looked to God and declared with certainty, “in you my soul takes refuge.” Consider this: in every cave David hid, and every valley that concealed him from the roving eyes of the wrathful Saul, was a shelter upon which he could give thanks to the LORD.
 
We must find that our constant hope is Christ the LORD. There are continual storms that rage against the Christian, persecutions and hardships, natural disasters and wicked enemies. We are not exempt from trials and are not spared the turmoil of this harsh world. Let us, then, with David declare our absolute security in God. We read, “in the shadow of your wings I will take refuge, till the storms of destruction pass by.” Like a small bird finding shelter under the wings of its mother, so we find our shelter under the grace and mercy of our LORD Jesus Christ. It may be that we face difficulties, but our confidence must not be in our circumstances but in His love. How long, then, shall we wait in faith for the LORD’s deliverance? Even as our text declares, “till the storms of destruction pass by.” Hebrews 4:16 instructs, “Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” Oh, beloved, let us place all our confidence in the LORD and rest all our hope in Him alone. We may navigate many storms in life, and face many enemies who are hostile to Christ, but in the LORD we will find our comfort and strength. Until that day when we stand in heaven, in the full victory of Christ, let us take our refuge in Him while we wait out the storms.
 
In His Grace,
Pastor Michael

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