In You Lord I Take Refuse

In you Lord I take refuge

Psalm 31

Good Morning church!

Good… Morning has an exciting ring to it!

Moorrrrnnning…not so much.

Good morning- those two words of acknowledgement given a person when you run into them and you don’t know what else to say to them. Right?

Your in an elevator, you make eye contact with someone you don’t know- you say Good morning, hello, Good evening, Hi… because what ‘s up!, how you doing… is not appropriate.

I am glad that we are getting to the point of getting these masks off our faces because I want to be able to see faces because faces don’t lie! Faces tell a story wither it is good or bad. Even when we cover up with a smile, our soul hurts and we cry out for fellowship and relationship!

We long for someone to show us some love and care what we are going through.

Men want to be tough guys! Women don’t want their hurts showing on their faces.

We are all looking for the face of God to smile on us and provide for us a place of refuge-

Someone is saying amen inside their heart this morning!

Most say hello to break the awkwardness of not knowing what else to say in that moment.

I wonder how many of us use the same terminology when we come face to face with the Lord?

I wonder how many of us begin our conversation with the Lord with… Hi… how is the weather? Sure been a hot one lately. I’m fine, how are you?

In these times of stress, depression, chaos, and isolation we don’t need a casual relationship with the Lord, we need an intimate relationship. We need a savior to come along side of us.

Message- In you Lord, I take refuge

Prayer-

Psalm 31:1-5 a song of praise on the goodness of God (Passion Version)

I believe the writer of the Psalm to be David, some believe Jeremiah but I don’t think there is enough proof of that. David quotes bits of this Psalm in several other psalms that are confirmed to be his writings.

Who better than David to bring us to a point of wanting God to rescue us and for us to put our trust in God as we journey together.

In July here at Rosedale we will begin a series called “Navigating the Journey”. The Lord for a long time has been sturing the pot, From dash to dash. Physical birth to physical death. Nothing will be protected and not open for discussion. From when we take our first breathe here on earth to the last breathe and everything in between.

We need to understand what happens between the dashes so that we know how to journey our lives so that we finish the race strong and well.

I like David, just like I like Peter because they were real to me.

They weren’t perfect and they made lots of mistakes and Jesus still loved them and showed them kindness and compassion.

I can relate to David because I have made some bonehead mistakes and I have felt like I have gotten on God’s last nerve and had to be reminded that God never gives up on us and He has no last nerve when it comes to His children.

This passage is David’s petition to God to intervene in his life and do something about the enemies that wanted to come against him, things that he cannot control.

David called upon God to deliver him.

He wanted God to stop those who were unjustly causing trouble.

David made his request based upon what he knew of God.

God is righteous and He is love, he loves to deliver his people.

David’s Plea for God to rescue and answer His prayer request

(1-2) (NIV)

“In You, O LORD, I put my trust;

Let me never be ashamed;

Deliver me in Your righteousness.

Turn your ear to me, come quickly to my rescue”

This Psalm like a lot of Psalms… is a declaration of trust in God in a time of trouble.

Never let me be ashamed to call upon the Lord in my time of trouble.

Deliver me in your righteousness.

I trust you Lord to be my hiding place- Don’t let me down Lord and don’t let my enemies bring me to shame or let me bring shame to you!

Come and rescue me Lord for you are the only one who can!

God’s hiding place for us - That secret place where God’s Presence ministers to us between the rocks of safety. Where God’s presence shows up and makes it all better. All secure. All safe!

Exodus 33:19-

“I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you. And I will proclaim my name, the Lord, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.” (21) “There is a place near me where you may stand on a rock. When my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and cover you with my hand until I have passed by.”