A rock of refuge

This week our studies in Psalm 31 continue; we're drawing an analogy between the stresses of our lives and the pressure of a pressure cooker . . . there's a regulator on the cooker that helps control the pressure, prevents the excess steam from escaping, and keeps the cooker from boiling dry. Our trust in God as our refuge helps us control the stresses of life, prevents us from venting too much "steam," and keeps us from "boiling dry," too.

Ready to dig in again?

Several times in our psalm, David speaks of our God as a rock of refuge. He doesn't say we get a free pass; he says we have a regulator. A way to control the intense pressures of life.  We've seen that David lists the attributes of God here, but he also says in verse one that he has taken refuge in our personal God -- he also asks God to be his stronghold:

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. (v 2-3)

In verse four, he says again that God is his strength - David is being an example for us in trusting in God, not in his own strength. In verse twenty, he tweaks it a little and says that we can be sheltered in the secret place of God's presence:

In the shelter of your presence you hide them
    from all human intrigues;
you keep them safe in your dwelling
    from accusing tongues. (v 20)

The regulator that controls our stress level is the knowledge that God, while He is the sovereign of the universe, is also a personal God. He is a shelter for His people when they are oppressed. It is in His sovereignty, as well as His personal care, that we can trust. David says to God in verse fifteen that his "times are in Your hand." We can understand more of what he means when we see another time that same Hebrew word is used . . . 

He changes times and seasons;
    he deposes kings and raises up others.
He gives wisdom to the wise
    and knowledge to the discerning. (Daniel 2:21)

Some believers have this image of heaven in their minds . . . they feel like the angels and God look down from the clouds and are perhaps anxious at what we humans are doing here on earth. Well, I'm here to tell you, our sovereign Lord is not biting His nails as He watches the human race in our sin and rebellion. He is all-knowing. He is all-powerful. He has a plan. And no one can thwart His purpose.

“I know that you can do all things;
    no purpose of yours can be thwarted." (Job 42:2)

God has a sovereign plan for all of history. He is working in all time periods and in our times. We can know that when pressure ramps up, it's not because God as asleep, or on vacation, or His view of earth was blocked by an angel's halo. 

according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, (Ephesians 1:11b)

and we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28)

It may be that He has allowed this pressure-filled situation that we find ourselves in, to teach us more about what it means to take refuge in Him. Or to teach someone that is watching us, that our stress is regulated by our trust in Him.

See, here's the thing: God is not only the sovereign of the universe . . . a God Who is holy, just, and filled with beauty, might, and splendor. He is also the personal God Who knows and CARES about every detail of our stressful situation. Yes, David knows God personally (verse 14), but we also see that God knows David personally (verse 7):

But I trust in you, Lord;
    I say, “You are my God.” (v 14)

I will be glad and rejoice in your love,
    for you saw my affliction
    and knew the anguish of my soul. (v 14)

David's friends may not have wanted to be with him; his friends may have even forgotten him (v 12) but he knew that God had not forgotten him.

A note of personal application now: when we are in the pressure cooker of stress, and when we are in times of trial, Satan's best tools are to get us to doubt either that God is really in control, or to doubt that He really loves and cares for us personally. In verse twenty-two, David confesses that he has been alarmed and frightened, thinking that he has been cut off from God's care. Shifting to the New Testament, we see that Peter wrote to church members suffering persecution and warned them that the devil was searching and seeking for them, in order to devour them. He added:

Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.

10 And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. (I Peter 5:9-10)

You may be thinking now that if God is sovereign, and our times are in His hands, what's left for us to do? We may as well sit back, right? What will be, will be . . .

Oh, no! Not so. There is another nugget of truth for us here in the psalm. We'll uncover it tomorrow!