"Listen to my prayer, O God, do not ignore my plea....My heart is in anguish within me....Fear and trembling have beset me....I said, 'Oh, that I had the wings of a dove! I would fly away and be at rest. I would flee far away and stay in the desert; I would hurry to my place of shelter, far from the tempest and storm'....Cast your cares on the Lord and He will sustain you; He will never let the righteous be shaken." (Psalm 55, NIV)
"I would flee far away...to my place of shelter...." Oh, and where might that be? Have you every had such a fantasyland?
In the vernacular, and in the mildest sense, it may be that "getting away from it all." In the worst sense, it may be literally, "....flee far away and stay in the desert;..far from the...storm," far from that job, family, church, that frustration/tension. We've all done it in some degree, in some fashion, i.e., fled to a "paper tiger" shelter. It is the state of a most desperate soul in an attempt to get at least some relief from the, "anguish within me," from the, "fear and trembling...."
History and experience has revealed, however, it doesn't work. Why? Such a reaction is within us, not in the circumstances. If one would be honest, that same, "anguish within me," that same, "fear and trembling," which we attempt to blame on others, or on circumstances which we believe are "beyond our control," has lifted its ugly head even when things seem to be fine.
When tempted to, "flee far away," and, "hurry to my place of shelter," it is wise to come to the conclusion of David, "Cast your cares on the Lord and He will sustain you; He will never let the righteous be shaken." David recovered and traded, "my place of shelter," for the Lord Jesus Christ, Who Alone is, "My Place of shelter."
Now this does not mean, "the tempest[s] and storm[s]," of life will just disperse. It means there, in that, "tempest and storm," is, "[His] place of shelter." It is not, "'Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,' my shepherd will reroute me." In David's life, as in ours, enemies or the Enemy do not stop their pursuit. They always find us. But whether, "green pastures,..still waters," or, "the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, because Thou art with me," because as David, I traded, "my place of shelter," for, "Cast your cares on the Lord and He will sustain [me]; He will never let the righteous be shaken."
"I would flee far away...to my place of shelter...." Oh, and where might that be? Have you every had such a fantasyland?
In the vernacular, and in the mildest sense, it may be that "getting away from it all." In the worst sense, it may be literally, "....flee far away and stay in the desert;..far from the...storm," far from that job, family, church, that frustration/tension. We've all done it in some degree, in some fashion, i.e., fled to a "paper tiger" shelter. It is the state of a most desperate soul in an attempt to get at least some relief from the, "anguish within me," from the, "fear and trembling...."
History and experience has revealed, however, it doesn't work. Why? Such a reaction is within us, not in the circumstances. If one would be honest, that same, "anguish within me," that same, "fear and trembling," which we attempt to blame on others, or on circumstances which we believe are "beyond our control," has lifted its ugly head even when things seem to be fine.
When tempted to, "flee far away," and, "hurry to my place of shelter," it is wise to come to the conclusion of David, "Cast your cares on the Lord and He will sustain you; He will never let the righteous be shaken." David recovered and traded, "my place of shelter," for the Lord Jesus Christ, Who Alone is, "My Place of shelter."
Now this does not mean, "the tempest[s] and storm[s]," of life will just disperse. It means there, in that, "tempest and storm," is, "[His] place of shelter." It is not, "'Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,' my shepherd will reroute me." In David's life, as in ours, enemies or the Enemy do not stop their pursuit. They always find us. But whether, "green pastures,..still waters," or, "the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, because Thou art with me," because as David, I traded, "my place of shelter," for, "Cast your cares on the Lord and He will sustain [me]; He will never let the righteous be shaken."
Father, in Jesus' Name, I thank You for Jesus, my righteousness, Who thereby enables me to walk in the peace that, "[You] will never let [me] be shaken." Amen.
When Peter, an 18 year old Norwegian, "heard the call to evangelize China, on that day he not only emptied his wallet into the collection plate, but included a small note with the words, 'and my life.'"
"Looking unto Jesus"
Hebrews 12:2
"Looking unto Jesus"
Hebrews 12:2
