Sunday in the Psalms: Where Are You Safest?

 

PSALM 16

Keep me safe, my God, for in you I take refuge.

I keep my eyes always on the Lord. With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken.

—Psalm 16:1, 8 NIV

Scrolling social media can make you feel like you’re swinging from left wing to right and back again, barely hanging on. I read a lengthy post warning that if the U.S. military sets foot on Greenland, the remaining UN member states will be obligated to band together against the United States. Immediately following was a post admonishing us Canadians to stand with the United States because if it goes down, we go down.

As an author of novels set during World War II, I think of the days when 18-year-olds were drafted. I try to imagine my grandson and his friends being called up. It seems unfathomable today. How would they respond? Would they lay aside the war games on their screens to fight a real one? Would they even care enough about their country to fight? Who are we relying on to protect us? Oh, how quickly one’s thoughts can turn to chaos, fear, and anxiety. 

I closed my phone and turned to my scripture for the day. The words that met me in the sixteenth psalm felt like a balm of truth. Only one true source of safety exists. I recalled missionaries stating, “The safest place on earth is in the center of God’s will.” Regardless of what’s going on around us—wars, rumors of war, threats, disasters, violence, disease, deprivation—the truth stands. Keeping our eyes on the Lord is our only real refuge. It will never fail.

 

Action Step: Next time you feel yourself becoming anxious about the news or warnings on social media, try unplugging and focusing on God’s Word.

Sundays in Psalms: Making It Right

                      PSALM 15 

Lord, who may dwell in your sacred tent? Who may live on your holy mountain?

The one whose walk is blameless, who does what is righteous,
    who speaks the truth from their heart;

—Psalm 15:1-2 NIV

I returned home from the office supply store and checked my receipt. Because of a mix-up when I refunded one set of pens and purchased another, I realized I owed the store a couple of dollars. It would have been easy to let it slide. But I knew living with the guilt would not be worth it. I returned to the store and paid the difference—to the clerk’s surprise.

In Psalm 15, David asks who is qualified to live with God. The answer appears to describe a perfect person. It’s easy to read those words and decide outright that no one qualifies, because none of us has perfectly succeeded in that long list. Others might read those words and see themselves as righteous while easily pinpointing others who are not—particularly people in the public eye and in leadership positions. Yet David himself fell short in some big ways, and he was a king.

David, of course, knows only the basic behavior-based system of the Old Covenant, where those who have pleased God with this kind of performance can expect blessing from God. It’s about a person’s overall character—not that they never mess up, but when they do, they admit it quickly and make it right instead of covering it up. Although our righteousness comes from Christ alone, He can make us people of character and integrity.

Question for Reflection: Last time an error left me on the winning end of a financial transaction, did I make it right?

Sundays in Psalms: Fight or Flight?

 

PSALM 14

The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.”

You evildoers frustrate the plans of the poor, but the Lord is their refuge.

—Psalm 14:1, 6 NIV

A commotion on the sidewalk in front of my house drew me to the window. One young man shouted threats and obscenities to another, while another man and a woman stood by, hollering at them to stop. A stroller stood to the side. Not knowing who belonged with whom, I grabbed my cellphone and hurried out the front door. I announced that I was calling the police, my heart pounding as the fight escalated. Two toddlers in the stroller strained to see what was unfolding. I grabbed the stroller handle and pushed the children down the block and around the corner, hoping to at least prevent their witnessing this if I couldn’t stop the fight. Of course, I prayed the entire time.

In hindsight, I believe the first man was on a drug that can result in unprovoked violence. He eventually settled down enough to continue down the sidewalk, still yelling, while the woman with him followed and the two with the stroller carried on the opposite way. I wanted to invite the woman into my house for her safety, but feared for my own. I'll probably forever wonder how I could have handled that better.

This psalm describes perfectly what happens when God is not acknowledged. It would seem hopeless if not for the concluding verses that inspire hope that God will ultimately restore justice. David calls for both introspection and a commitment to seeking God while living in a corrupt world.

 Question for Reflection: When confronted with the evil in our world, am I more likely to hide or to stand up and fight?