Central Truth

As the key verse says, God IS our refuge. Remember He identified Himself as "I AM" to Moses. Self-existent, holy, all wise and all powerful, He cannot be unfaithful to those who are HIS, no matter how desperate things may appear to them through human eyes.

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Reflections

The title of this Psalm is "A Shiggaion of David, which he sang to the LORD concerning Cush, a Benjamite." I spent too much time struggling with this because it is the only place that Cush the Benjamite is mentioned in Scripture. It seems to be during the time that David was fleeing from Absalom, his son, who wanted to take the kingdom away from him. It is clear though, that David was in extreme danger from his enemies rather frequently both before and during his reign as Israel's greatest king. In fact we MIGHT say that he was "at risk" the whole time EXCEPT for the fact that the all-knowing and all-powerful GOD had plans for him. Nonetheless the problems, treachery and attacks that David faced were completely real, as are ours. But he knew in his heart that he was upright and that he was doing God's will to the best of his ability. Therefore he had every right to not only bring his problems before God, but also to honestly expect God to take his part and bring him through every situation in victory.

While the nature of our problems seems to be far different than the problems David faced, our Lord, the Ancient of Days, does NOT change. And as He knew David's heart, He also knows ours. As we, like David, seek to do God's will to the best of our ability, we have every reason to trust Him, as David did, and expect righteous deliverance.

I remember a time when I found myself cross-ways with the Internal Revenue Service after making some bad assumptions. They concluded that a tax refund I had received a couple years before (and had spent) had been inappropriate. They disallowed my second appeal, so the total bill including penalties and interest amounted to about $14,000. I had $800 in the bank when I got their notification on Christmas Eve. Within 2 weeks I received a check from the sale of a house for the exact amount I owed. I had no idea the house would be sold, but earnest prayers turned into wholehearted praise.

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Discussion Questions

1. Are you sure that God knows what your problems are?
2. Is your conscience clear enough that you can expect God to deliver you?
3. What changes do you need to make?

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