Refuge

O my people, trust in him at all times. Pour out your heart to him, for God is our refuge.

Psalm 62:8 (NLT)

I don’t know about you, but life can be pretty stressful some times. Depending on the day, things come flying at me pretty fast. There is work, kids, wife, church, studying, learning, exercising, and a million other things that need my attention each day. Please note, I’m not complaining. Rather, I’m thinking that many of you can relate to the idea that living in this world can be very stressful.

The biblical boy-king David can certainly relate to a stress-filled life. He was anointed to be the future king of Israel when he was just a kid. He defeated a giant, which caused jealousy to spew forth from the king that David would be replacing – King Saul. He had a huge issue with lust, which caused him to commit adultery and murder one of his best friends. He lost his baby boy as a result of his sin. He was hunted, persecuted, and tormented. And, that was all at the hand of his own people, let alone the many nations that warred with Israel during this time period. Needless-to-say, David had problems.

However, the one place he never had to stress about was with His God. Sure, God called Him to do some really hard stuff, and held David accountable when he royally screwed up. (Get it? Royally! Never mind.) But, David always knew He could come to God with anything. He knew that God loved Him and wanted him in His life. As David stated, “God is our refuge.”

Back in the day, there were cities designated as Cities of Refuge. These cities were designated as such so that those who had been accused of a crime could find refuge from the lynch mob that was chasing after them trying to kill them without a proper trial. The cities didn’t necessarily serve to get the dude off the hook. Rather, they existed to make sure a fair trial happened rather than mob justice.

So, David is saying that God is our City of Refuge, if you will. When life is pressing down upon us, we can run to God and not receive condemnation and judgment, but peace, a rest from the stresses of life. No matter what is happening in our lives, we can always run into the arms of our God to find peace, to find refuge.