09/14/2019
Where do you go when trouble arises? Where do you seek refuge from the storm? When the world around us is being consumed by wind and flood, where is our high ground, or safe harbor? There is none like our God, and no beacon to guide us like Jesus. In Christ we are ushered to safety, in God we are safe, and made restful... even in the storms.
“You are a hiding place for me; you preserve me from trouble; you surround me with shouts of deliverance. Selah”
Psalms 32:7 ESV
When David wrote these words he was in the midst of a sinful storm in his life. You see, Sometimes trouble isn’t as much physical as it is spiritual. Sometimes a small hiccup in our lives can breed an enormous storm in our souls, and lead us into turbulent days of sin. A small glance across the rooftops can breed infidelity within our hearts like it did King David’s when he saw Bathsheba bathing. The sin that unfolded from that quiet night became a tempest that cost a man his life, David his son, and nearly cost Him his soul. Tiny glances with huge spiritual implications.
“But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction.”
1 Timothy 6:9 ESV
So where is our refuge when we find ourselves in the midst of such hurricanes of sin? Well, the best way to escape the storm is to pray that you be spared it when the clouds are just forming. Had David prayed for the strength to resist the temptation he felt that first night he saw Bathsheba many lives would have been different... the storm could have been averted.
“Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak."”
Matthew 26:41 ESV
Yet David didn’t pray for strength that night, so the storm began to strengthen, and the sin to boil up within him. A seemingly harmless glance became a stare, a taste, and then raging sinfulness... murder. So he finds himself in the midst of a great storm... physical, but more than that, spiritual.
“For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer. Selah”
Psalms 32:3-4 ESV
Our little moments of transgression can easily lead us into the same place that David finds himself. Sometimes they become huge hurricanes of sin, but more often they are smaller tornadoes... yet both are just as deadly. Where do we turn, and what do we do in such moments when it is too late to resist the initial temptation, and the storm is swirling around us? David found that his soul was on the verge of damnation. What did he do in his hour before judgement? How did he avoid catastrophe and damnation? To whom did he turn? Who was able to save him? God alone could deliver him, and He can deliver us too...
“I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the Lord," and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah Therefore let everyone who is godly offer prayer to you at a time when you may be found; surely in the rush of great waters, they shall not reach him. You are a hiding place for me; you preserve me from trouble; you surround me with shouts of deliverance. Selah”
Psalms 32:5-7 ESV
Jesus took on our sins and covered them with a His blood, then He died, and was resurrected that we might have life. He is our refuge, and God our strong tower. Jesus intercedes for us before His Father, and lifts up our sorrows, and contrition before Him. For our part we need to humble ourselves, and confess our sins; leaving nothing hidden. We need to take full responsibility, and call our actions what they truly are... sin. There is no deferment by saying “if”, “but”, or blaming others... only our acceptance of the complete blame and responsibility for what we have done, and we shouldn’t need to be led, or dragged into confession.
“Be not like a horse or a mule, without understanding, which must be curbed with bit and bridle, or it will not stay near you.”
Psalms 32:9 ESV
If we do these things with an honest and contrite heart then the storm will be calmed, the flood waters will abate, and our home will be saved. We can trust in the Lord to punish us when our judgement warrants it, but we should also trust in His goodness and mercy when we cast ourselves at His feet in heartfelt love, and contrition.
“Many are the sorrows of the wicked, but steadfast love surrounds the one who trusts in the Lord. Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, O righteous, and shout for joy, all you upright in heart!”
Psalms 32:10-11 ESV
In this way we are restored, and our sins are washed clean. In this way, though men might remember our transgressions, God will have chosen to remove them from his memory, and we are redeemed, and known once more as David was known...
“And when he had removed him, he raised up David to be their king, of whom he testified and said, 'I have found in David the son of Jesse a man after my heart, who will do all my will.'”
Acts 13:22 ESV
So if a storm is brewing in your life, or you find yourself in the midst of it already... pray. If your sails are being stripped by the wind then call out for rescue, and pray for forgiveness. Reach out for Jesus, and reveal to Him your sins, and leave no hint of them unsaid. Fall before God in sorrow, and tears as your heart seeks His mercy, and trust in His forgiveness. Great is our God.
Prayer:
Father, thank you for the mercy and grace that you have made available to us through your Son Jesus. Thank you Holy Father for extending your forgiveness to us, even when our sins have reached such heights that we would view ourselves as unforgivable. Thank you for the safe harbor we find in Jesus, and the strong tower you provide us against all trouble. Help us Lord to see the error of our ways, to confess them to Jesus, and acknowledge them before your throne, so that we might be washed clean by the blood of Your Lamb, and forgiven by you. Give us faith Merciful Father that your promise of forgiveness is true, and the deliverance from our sins provided by your Son is complete. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you who listens for the contrition of our hearts, and forgives. Praised be your name for the storms you still, and the waters you calm. Great is your name, and greatly to be praised, for you show mercy to those who find themselves unworthy of forgiveness. All glory belongs to you Heavenly Father, because the grace you have poured out on us through Jesus is pure indeed, and complete in its application.
“And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account. Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”
Hebrews 4:13-16 ESV
Rich Forbes