God is Our Refuge

March 10

(Psalm 31:1-13 NIV) “In you, O Lord, I have taken refuge; let me never be put to shame; deliver me in your righteousness. {2} Turn your ear to me, come quickly to my rescue; be my rock of refuge, a strong fortress to save me. {3} Since you are my rock and my fortress, for the sake of your name lead and guide me. {4} Free me from the trap that is set for me, for you are my refuge. {5} Into your hands I commit my spirit; redeem me, O Lord, the God of truth. {6} I hate those who cling to worthless idols; I trust in the Lord. {7} I will be glad and rejoice in your love, for you saw my affliction and knew the anguish of my soul. {8} You have not handed me over to the enemy but have set my feet in a spacious place. {9} Be merciful to me, O Lord, for I am in distress; my eyes grow weak with sorrow, my soul and my body with grief. {10} My life is consumed by anguish and my years by groaning; my strength fails because of my affliction, and my bones grow weak. {11} Because of all my enemies, I am the utter contempt of my neighbors; I am a dread to my friends-- those who see me on the street flee from me. {12} I am forgotten by them as though I were dead; I have become like broken pottery. {13} For I hear the slander of many; there is terror on every side; they conspire against me and plot to take my life.”

Psalm 31 opens with a Statement of Faith. David says, “God is my refuge.” A refuge is a place of protection; a place of safety. God is our refuge from traps set by our enemies. He is our refuge in times of affliction, anguish, and distress -- in times when there is no place else to hide. God is our refuge from enemies who intend to harm us. If you stand for anything in this life, you will have enemies; those who want to see you fail and who seek your demise. They may not attack with guns or knives, but with tongues that slander. God is our refuge from “fair weather friends”-- those who like you when things go well, but disappear when things get broken in your life. David’s statements of faith are based on God’s past behavior. He trusted God with his future because God had been faithful in the past. Will you? God is our refuge! -- Friar Tuck’s Word of the Day