Please read Psalm 71:1-16
Be my rock of refuge,
to which I can always go;
give the command to save me,
for you are my rock and my fortress. (verse 3)
Refuge
When I wander through the desert
And I'm longing for my home
All my dreams have gone astray
When I'm stranded in the valley
And I'm tired and all alone
It seems like I've lost my way*
What is a refuge? It comes from the Latin word which means to escape or to flee, and it is defined as shelter or protection from danger or something to which one has recourse in difficulty (www.m-w.com). God is our solid refuge – the unchanging rock to which we can always go. Refuge shares a word origin with the word fugitive. Doesn’t that describe us sometimes? We are fugitives on the run, seeking protection from the problems and worries of life, desperate for salvation from our sin. We can run to our God, and he will give us help. It is a promise. It is a rock upon which we can build our lives and our faith.
Fortress
You are my strong tower
Shelter over me
Beautiful and mighty
Everlasting King
You are my strong tower
Fortress when I'm weak
Your name is true and holy
And Your face is all I seek*
What is a fortress? This word comes from a Latin word meaning strong. A fortress is a stronghold or a large and permanent fortification. God is our fortress. He is strong and permanent. He does not change, he never stops loving us, his grace is unending. Not only do we have a refuge, but our refuge is a strong fortress.
Hope
I go running to Your mountain
Where your mercy sets me free
In the middle of my darkness
In the midst of all my fear
You're my refuge and my hope
When the storm of life is raging
And the thunder's all I hear
You speak softly to my soul*
The Psalm describes the hope that we can find in God. Verse 5 says, “For you have been my hope, O Sovereign LORD, my confidence since my youth.” In God we find hope. Hope that believes that through him, all things are possible. Hope that will allow us to surrender our problems – everything that batters against us – to our God. He is our God. The Message version of this Psalm, in verse 3, says, “you said your door was always open!” God’s door is always open to us. He sent his son to us so that the door would be wide open to us.
So what is our response? As United Methodists we claim that our doors are always open. I know that we have a beautiful building, and sometimes it can feel like a refuge or a fortress, but that’s not our church, and those aren’t the doors that I mean. As a church, as a Body of Christ, are our doors open? As a church, are we a fortress for God’s children? Can people run to us as a refuge? Are we the light of hope to anyone?
We are called to be Christ-like. We are created in the image of God. When the fugitives of life – people just like us – look at us, do they see God? Do they feel God’s presence through our actions and our words?
Standing on this rock, secure in the hope we have in God, what is our response?
*(Lyrics from Strong Tower, Kutless)
Kim Matthews
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