How to Find Refuge & Comfort in God

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How to Find Refuge & Comfort in God

Psalm 62:1-12 – When you talk with someone who has first hand experience with something it is worth listening to it! David when through many difficult things so when he says that we can trust God to be our refuge, we can believe him!

The Difficulty David is Facing

It isn’t 100% clear if the leaning wall in verse 3 is referring to David, or if it’s referring to the attackers of the city. The question here though is “how long?”

Verse 4 talks about David’s attackers, they are destructive and they want to pull him down from his high position. Treachery makes these attackers cheerful, they are two faced who are both blessing and cursing.

Sometimes we face things that are unfair and we wonder what we’ve done to deserve this? We could be facing loss of job, or reputation, or even our life and we wonder “how long is this going to go on?”

How Did David Make God His Refuge?

In times of trouble it is possible to find refuge in God. We don’t have to be gravely shaken and fly off the handle. It will take effort and the grace of God, but we can stand and not be gravely shaken.

This is something that is good for us to do whether we are facing a great big trial, or we’re just having a bad day and we might not even be sure exactly why. Finding refuge and assurance in God is the answer to both of these kinds of trials.

1. We need to review who God is (verses 11-12) – Power belongs to God, this is something that we are taught early on in life. David knew this when he was a young shepherd. He recognized this truth as an older man too, he is reviewing the truth about God that he knows to be true. Does our trial mean that God’s character has changed? In Psalm 63 David says, you’re steadfast love is better than life! God is the final judge and He the final authority to judge. These are basic facts about God, but they are important for us to review when we are struggling. God is loving and is powerful and will reward us if we are faithful.

2. Reject false securities (verses 9-10) – False securities might look correct, but they will fail under pressure and scrutiny. People, plans, possessions can all be sources of false security for us. David tells us that people are not a good place to put our ultimate trust. We need people, we need friends and advisors, but we ultimately they are not were we should be putting our ultimate trust. Plans, like extortion, robbery, etc are not a good answer either. These kinds of plans backfire all the time. Possessions and money can solve some problems, but not the biggest problems of life. Money can’t make our illness go away, it can help, but isn’t in and of itself the solution. Money doesn’t even register when it comes to salvation and being right with God.

3. Wait silently on God (verses 1, 5) – Psalm 37 – Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him. Fret not yourself… but wait for the Lord. We need to be making time for God. David is talking about an inner waiting and trust, but that is affected by outward choices. We need to slow down in our daily lives and spend time with God. David is speaking from first hand experience here. David is committing not just the crumbs of life to God, he is committing all of the big things to Him as well. Make decisions out of rest in God, not from the anxiety that threatens to push us to make rash decisions.

4. Pour out your heart to God (verse 8) – Psalm 55 & 62 – Unload your burdens and troubles to God. Perhaps there are tears involved. This is probably something that happens more often than once. God is a refuge for us. Pouring our hearts out to God is one way that we can shift our burdens off of our shoulders and on to God’s. God is not impersonal and inaccessible He wants to hear your heart.

What is the Result of Trusting in God?

1. We worship God when we find refuge in Him. It is an act of worship, a statement that God is more important than what we are facing.

2. We find guidance. Our thinking will be more clear, God will speak to us more easily when we refuge in Him.

3. We avoid regrets. Fretting that leads to evil. Reacting in ways that cause problems.

4. We are more unshakable. David is here where he is in Psalm 62 because he has been practicing this for a long time. He has repeatedly made God his mighty rock and fortress.

5. We send a convincing testimony, especially to those who know us best. Our children will be more impressed by how their parents behave under stress than when everything is going well.

Conclusion

Accept responsibility for how you respond to tough times. God is supposed to be our refuge and strong fortress. If the enemy is coming and you don’t enter the fortress it is our responsibility. We do have responsibility for how we respond in tough times.

Make more of an effort to rest in Jesus. When we are depressed and frustrated it is always a good choice to turn to God. This sound simple but is something that is very true and can greatly affect our lives.