Saturday September 3

First Saturday of September 2011... so much happening.  Even though it's nearly 90 outside here in Florida, there is a definite sense of changing of the seasons.  The weather will be nice for several more months as it slowly cools down and moves toward a southern autumn.  The football season has started, the new cars are coming out, the NFL will start this week, and life moves onto one of it's most energetic seasons, with Halloween next month, Thanksgiving, then Christmas and New Years.  Much to celebrate, enjoy and be thankful for as we move forward.


However, not everyone is enjoying the fruitful season.  We still have millions out of work, economy is stuck in the mud, still fighting two wars, although Iraq is mostly just a money sinkhole now and Afghanistan is supposed to be winding down.  Then what?  Who will finance the war machines and war industries?  More people out of work!


So the trials and tribulations of a great nation and its great peoples continues!  It seems hard to accept, but this is where we really need to see the "Hand of God".  Consider today's meditation and reflection from Bob Hoekstra:



September 3


David Confessing God as His Refuge
Trust in Him at all times, you people; Pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us . . . . You are my hiding place . . . You shall surround me with songs of deliverance.  (Psa_62:8 and Psa_32:7)


David often confessed God as his refuge. This is another indicator that he typically lived by the grace of God (that is, by trusting God to work on his behalf).  
The need or desire to find a refuge (a place of shelter or protection) is common among mankind. The storms of life can beat down relentlessly. Circumstantially, it can be as though Ezekiel's prophetic warning is being fulfilled toward us. "There will be flooding rain . . . great hailstones . . . and a stormy wind" (Eze_13:11). 
We long for a shelter. At other times, threats and dangers seem to lurk around every corner. Experientially, it can be as though we are reliving the trials of David. "The pangs of death encompassed me, And the floods of ungodliness made me afraid. The sorrows of Sheol surrounded me; The snares of death confronted me" (Psa_18:4-5). 
We long for a place of protection. David knew where to turn for refuge when troubles multiplied. "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble" (Psa_46:1). Our place of shelter and protection is not a place, but a person. When troubles come, we can turn to Him. He is totally available to help us ("a very present help"). Whenever we exercise our trust in Him, whenever we pour our heart out to Him in prayer, we can enjoy the Lord as our refuge. "Trust in Him at all times, you people; Pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us."  
At other times, we are not looking so much for a refuge (a place of shelter or protection), we are seeking a hiding place (a secret solitude).  When this occurs, we easily identify with David's desire to flee. "Oh, that I had wings like a dove! For then I would fly away and be at rest. Indeed, I would wander far off, And remain in the wilderness" (Psa_55:6-7). Well, God has more good news for us. As David learned, the Lord is willing and able to be that hiding place. "You are my hiding place . . . You shall surround me with songs of deliverance." Whenever we turn to the Lord and allow Him to encompass us with songs of His delivering power, we can enjoy the Lord as our hiding place. Of course, one practical way to be surrounded by God's "songs of deliverance" is to spend time prayerfully reading in the book of Psalms. They are God's divinely inspired rescue songs.


Dear God, my refuge, I so often long to be sheltered and protected. I praise You that I can find that by running to You in prayer! Dear Lord, my hiding place, I frequently yearn to flee for a secret solitude. I rejoice that I can find that by allowing You to surround me by Your message of deliverance found in Your word!