Thoughts for the Day

I love you, O Lord, my strength.
The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer,
my God, my rock in whom I take refuge,
my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised;
so I shall be saved...

In my distress I called upon the Lord;
to my God I cried for help.
From his temple he heard my voice,
and my cry to him reached his ears.

(Lectionary, New Revised Standard Version)

Thoughts

When I was 11 years old we moved from Pevensey in Sussex to live near Bordon in Hampshire, renting the downstairs of an old house in the middle of nowhere. It was a child's natural playground with deep woods behind, and a long drive with old oak trees in front - like the one in the picture! The twins and I had the run of the place but when I wanted to get away I would climb an ancient oak tree at the bottom of the drive. The tree had easy access and wide, safe limbs on which to sit. It was my favourite hide-away and refuge to read a book all summer and hide from everyone.

In today's Psalm, David needs to hide in order to save his life, not as in my case just to be alone. His enemies, including King Saul, seek to kill him, and he instinctively turns to God for help. There is no-one else that can protect him and he explains exactly what Almighty can do for him, and promptly praises God:

• God is his strength - who gives power to David when he is weak.
• God is his rock - who gives David shade, protection, and a base on which to stand.
• God is his fortress - who gives David a safe place to withdraw.
• God is his deliverer - who will remove David from danger.
• God is his shield - who puts a barrier between David and his enemies;
• God is his horn of salvation - who announces to David a place of safety;
• God is his stronghold - who is there when David needs protection.

Today in our crazy, disturbed world, we often need a refuge - a bolt-hole perhaps. It might a bedroom, a "man-cave", our church, or somewhere special in the countryside. A refuge can allow us space to get away from the world for a little time, and give us space to turn to God!

Heavenly Father,
our refuge and our stronghold,
when life is difficult
and we are in trouble,
may we never forget
to turn to You
knowing that You
are there to help us.
May we also accept that Your solutions
will still be the best ones for us,
whatever they are.
Amen.