Spirituality of the Psalms
From Worry to Refuge
In the Psalms we discover the heartbeat of what it means to walk with our God. The Psalter is an odd sort of teacher, admittedly. Through the Psalms we learn what God is like by what he can hear, and we learn what following him is like through those who have walked before us. But we also find Jesus’ orienting map of his mission throughout the Psalms, and so it is not surprising that he so often turns there.
As I pray through the Psalms, which is a nightly practice of mine, I have been struck by how often the word refuge shows up. Here are some quick examples, which we could easily multiply:
“Blessed are all who take refuge in him.” - Psalm 2:12
“Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge. I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord; I have no good apart from you.” - Psalm 16:1-2
“The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.” - Psalm 18:2
I noticed, as I was praying through these Psalms, that I had a tendency to hear the word “refuge” as an objective claim about God. But increasingly I began to see that while this is true (God objectively is our refuge), it is at odds with how the Psalmist often uses it. The Psalmist isn’t merely asserting a feature of God’s existence; he is making a claim about where he goes for help. He is saying, “Lord, I go to you! My enemies surround me, but you are where I look to for help. You are where my hope comes from.”
It strikes me that for many of us, it is easier to say that God is my refuge, than it is to say that I make God my refuge. If I’m honest, I too often make worry my refuge.
Worrying, as such, is not the problem. But worrying is a sign - a call - that we need to turn to the Lord. Too often worrying becomes a strategy to manage our lives. We worry instead of turning to the Lord. We worry hoping that if we just worry enough then we’ll be able to navigate the challenges that face us.
Therefore, when Jesus tells us, “do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble,” (Matt. 6:34), we need to hear that in the right way. The wrong way to hear that would be to see our worry and immediately feel bad about ourselves for failing, turning to our ability to “do the right thing” to feel better. The solution to worrying is not moralism. The solution to worrying is to discover that God is our refuge.
To discover that God is your refuge is to do much more than assert the truthfulness of this statement. The problem for most Christians is not that they fail to recognize that God is their refuge. The problem is that they do not make him their refuge.
Prayer, far from being a place to be impressive, or to showcase your biblical and theological knowledge, is perhaps the most obvious place to make God your refuge. In prayer we are drawing near to God to present ourselves to him. In prayer we are seeking to rest in his presence, holding open our lives to him and seeking his grace and mercy. In prayer we seek the peace only available before the face of our heavenly Father.
Are you worried? Anxious? Troubled? Fatigued? Disillusioned? Despairing? Draw near to your Lord and seek him in the truth of these things. God knows the truth, but that knowledge should not shut down our speech, but should awaken us to bring it before him.
This makes prayer an unusual place, perhaps an isolating place. But this too is a gift. This is an older video now, but I hope it can encourage you. Prayer is a place to be known, so draw near to your heavenly Father who sees all, knows all, and even has prayed all for you.