Read
(A psalm by David for the music leader. Use with stringed instruments.)
Under the Protection
1Please listen, God,
and answer my prayer!
2I feel hopeless,
and I cry out to you
from a faraway land.
Lead me to the mighty rock
high above me.
3You are a strong tower,
where I am safe
from my enemies.
4Let me live with you forever
and find protection
under your wings, my God.
5You heard my promises,
and you have blessed me,
just as you bless everyone
who worships you.
6Let the king have a long
and healthy life.
7May he always rule
with you, God, at his side;
may your love and loyalty
watch over him.
8I will sing your praises
forever, God, and will always
keep my promises.
Reflect
Everyone experiences hopeless times, feeling cut off from the world, trapped far away from the comforts of home, family and friends. Life’s storms rage, all hell breaks loose, and it seems the proverbial ship is going down.
David was no stranger to this sort of bone crushing weariness. He had been driven out of his beloved home, Jerusalem, and banned from the tabernacle, that place where the Spirit of God resided in those Old Testament days. It would be a long, hard road back to restoration as Israel’s rightful ruler. He wandered in desolate places, crying out to God for help and protection.
When everything around you is a mess, that’s really all you can do. When the winds rage and the rain pelts, like David, we call out to the One who is a “strong tower” and a “mighty rock,” a solid place of refuge. When it seems most hopeless, God hears. He promises to be with us in the storm.
He may tell the winds to stop, as Jesus did for His frightened friends (Mark 4:35-41), or it may be that we have to cling, wet and shivering, to that hunk of rock, and experience the very worst that life has to throw at us. He is there, too, providing that one solid foothold, that sliver of comfort. Just hang on, He says. Just hang on.
A time will come when something will give. Somehow, some way, the storm will end. And it’s then that thanksgiving needs to come from that same deep place within that birthed the cries for help. When God rescues us, that is the story we need to share. The rocks are still there and more ships are coming in; others are struggling through the waves. Point them to the place of refuge.
Respond
Lord, our protector, remember your children in our time of deepest need. Hear our prayers for deliverance. Keep us faithful. Please give us the strength to endure the storm. We know that you will save. Give us strength until that day, and when it comes, accept our unending and extravagant praise for all that you do and have done for us. Amen.
Kelly Rempel
Kelly Rempel is a wife, mother of two, writer and Jesus-follower. She lives in Winnipeg, MB where she is developing her passion for introducing children and their families to Jesus in her role as Family Ministry Director at Braeside Evangelical Church. She formerly served as the Senior Editor for ChristianWeek, a national publication focused on Christian faith and life in Canada (and beyond). She grew up in northern B.C., obtained her journalism diploma at Grant MacEwan College in Edmonton, and attended Bethany Bible Institute (now Bethany College) in Hepburn, SK, before moving to Winnipeg. In her spare time, Kelly enjoys trying her hand at various creative pursuits.