Where am I?
Psalm 31:1-3
"In You, O 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."
When I was working on my master’s degree, I enjoyed spending time with my major professor. During one of these meetings he laughed as he told me about his major professor. The man was known for being absent minded. One day he met my professor in the middle of the campus. They talked for several minutes about an assignment. When they finished the conversation his professor said: “Pardon me young man. Which way was I heading before we met?”
Sometimes people are like that spiritually. They lack a sense of direction for their lives. I was doing a word search using my Blue Letter Bible (contact me if you want to know about it), and simply typed in the words: lead and guide. I really did not expect to have a verse that included both words, but it is in today’s Scripture.
There is so much in these three verses that I feel it is God speaking to me personally. Please look over my shoulder as I explore this truth today. This is a Psalm of David and it takes the form of a prayer. It acknowledges that David has taken his refuge in the Lord.
It was a time in David's life when he was betrayed and abandoned. Those that could have been, and should have been, supporting him had abandoned him. But there was One who was always there, and David placed his trust in Him. He took his refuge in the Rock that cannot be shaken.
The storms of life can be frightening at times. It even seems that there are no avenues of escape. I am sure that David had those feelings at times. When he had those thoughts, he placed his trust in the solid rock of his salvation. With the Lord as his mighty fortress it was impossible for any enemy to penetrate and cause him harm.
Let’s slow down and digest some of this. The title implies that some of us do not really have a sense of where we are or in what direction we should be going. I remember driving across the barren stretches of Wyoming desert and seeing a sign along the highway. "I MAY BE LOST, BUT I’M SURE AM MAKING GOOD TIME!" There is so much truth to that statement. We need to slow down and consider where we are and what route we need to take to reach our destination.
David gives us great advice on discovering where we are and where we need to go. When we take our refuge in the Lord we find the directions for our life. When the Lord is our refuge and fortress, we can call out to Him, for His own name's sake, to lead and guide us. We are His, so His reputation is at stake. He has never failed to provide for one of His own, and He will not fail to provide for us now.
Have you ever had a visitor, who did not know the area, follow you? If they are observant and follow closely, there is no problem. It has been my experience that sometimes they sometimes lag so far behind that a traffic light changes and I have to stop and wait for them. Then when the light turned green, the traffic makes it difficult pull back in front to lead them. If they get ahead of me, they have no idea where they are going. Only when they slow down and allow me to get back in the lead, will they know the way. Does that sound a little familiar with your spiritual walk?
Here is the bottom line! If we want to get to our goal of pleasing the Lord, we must place our trust in Him and allow Him to be our guide. There is no other alternative. We may feel like we are making good time, but it generally will be in the wrong direction. The faster we go in the wrong direction, the more off course we become. Christ came into the world to be our leader and guide. If we keep our eyes on Him, and never stray from His side, we will reach our goal. We can always know where we are when we stay close to the Lord.
Pastor Cecil Thompson
Psalm 31:1-3
"In You, O 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."
When I was working on my master’s degree, I enjoyed spending time with my major professor. During one of these meetings he laughed as he told me about his major professor. The man was known for being absent minded. One day he met my professor in the middle of the campus. They talked for several minutes about an assignment. When they finished the conversation his professor said: “Pardon me young man. Which way was I heading before we met?”
Sometimes people are like that spiritually. They lack a sense of direction for their lives. I was doing a word search using my Blue Letter Bible (contact me if you want to know about it), and simply typed in the words: lead and guide. I really did not expect to have a verse that included both words, but it is in today’s Scripture.
There is so much in these three verses that I feel it is God speaking to me personally. Please look over my shoulder as I explore this truth today. This is a Psalm of David and it takes the form of a prayer. It acknowledges that David has taken his refuge in the Lord.
It was a time in David's life when he was betrayed and abandoned. Those that could have been, and should have been, supporting him had abandoned him. But there was One who was always there, and David placed his trust in Him. He took his refuge in the Rock that cannot be shaken.
The storms of life can be frightening at times. It even seems that there are no avenues of escape. I am sure that David had those feelings at times. When he had those thoughts, he placed his trust in the solid rock of his salvation. With the Lord as his mighty fortress it was impossible for any enemy to penetrate and cause him harm.
Let’s slow down and digest some of this. The title implies that some of us do not really have a sense of where we are or in what direction we should be going. I remember driving across the barren stretches of Wyoming desert and seeing a sign along the highway. "I MAY BE LOST, BUT I’M SURE AM MAKING GOOD TIME!" There is so much truth to that statement. We need to slow down and consider where we are and what route we need to take to reach our destination.
David gives us great advice on discovering where we are and where we need to go. When we take our refuge in the Lord we find the directions for our life. When the Lord is our refuge and fortress, we can call out to Him, for His own name's sake, to lead and guide us. We are His, so His reputation is at stake. He has never failed to provide for one of His own, and He will not fail to provide for us now.
Have you ever had a visitor, who did not know the area, follow you? If they are observant and follow closely, there is no problem. It has been my experience that sometimes they sometimes lag so far behind that a traffic light changes and I have to stop and wait for them. Then when the light turned green, the traffic makes it difficult pull back in front to lead them. If they get ahead of me, they have no idea where they are going. Only when they slow down and allow me to get back in the lead, will they know the way. Does that sound a little familiar with your spiritual walk?
Here is the bottom line! If we want to get to our goal of pleasing the Lord, we must place our trust in Him and allow Him to be our guide. There is no other alternative. We may feel like we are making good time, but it generally will be in the wrong direction. The faster we go in the wrong direction, the more off course we become. Christ came into the world to be our leader and guide. If we keep our eyes on Him, and never stray from His side, we will reach our goal. We can always know where we are when we stay close to the Lord.
Pastor Cecil Thompson
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