Psalm 31:1

Psalm 31:1

You are my refuge     

There are times in life when we just want to run and hide. But where shall we go? Run to our home and lock the door and draw the curtains? Run to a friend? Run to a professional person for help? Or just run and never come back? Sometimes we cannot run, so we hide in depression and non-communication or behind a mask. Let me tell you that there is a better way! David found it and we already know the answer. “In you, Lord, I have taken refuge.” The Lord is our hiding place, when we are close to Him and trouble is brewing, He pulls us close and locks the door. He is the friend we need; He is the consummate professional, He is our rock and our fortress. Please, if life is overwhelming you, turn to Him, lay it all down before Him and just rest in His refuge. 

There are two more facets to this care package, the first has to do with shame. “Let me never be put to shame.” If you have read ahead in the Psalm, you will have noticed that verse 5 contains words used by the Lord Jesus as He offered up His life to God at the cross; “Into your hands I commit my spirit.” If there is any deeper meaning to this Psalm then it surely reflects the suffering of our Lord at that time and oh, the shame. The Son of Almighty God hung naked on a Roman crucifix, accused of capital offences. He suffered alongside common criminals and bore the taunts and curses of a hostile crowd. Oh, the shame, the disgrace, the humiliation of that scene. And yet this was God taking my shame, removing it from me so that I might not be ashamed. Because of Jesus you and I will never be put to shame, instead the charge sheet with our offences have been removed from us and nailed to that wooden cross. Colossians 2:14-15. “Having cancelled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.”  We will stand forgiven and without accusation before God whilst many will hang their heads in shame. Wow!

The final plea in this verse says, “Deliver me in your righteousness.” We know that God is righteous, holy and eternally good and we know that we are weak, impoverished, repetitive sinners. How could we possibly have a perfect God as our deliverer? Why would He want to deliver us? We are so undeserving. Well, God’s righteousness is founded on love and mercy and justice. He makes the rules and He has decided that those who seek Him will find Him. He has decided that the offering of a blood sacrifice will cover our sin and that there is a way to be righteous – His way. That is the whole point of the offering of Jesus as the Lamb of God, that we might be delivered by His righteousness for we can never be saved by our own feeble attempts to be good. Thank You Father. Hallelujah! 

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