Psalm 11
The Lord as Our Refuge

Sometimes it seems like the chair has been kicked out from under you. Psalm 11 describes it as the foundations being destroyed, what you had relied on being stripped away. Mario Coronado, our guest preacher, cited as an example the sacking of Rome by the Visigoths in 410 AD. I remember hearing a sermon based on Psalm 11 in the immediate aftermath of 9/11. You might think of the beginning of the pandemic five years ago. We could also think about a personal disaster instead of a national one – a cancer diagnosis, a job loss, divorce. The question is, how will we respond?

One option is panic. That was the response of the psalmist’s advisers. “Flee!” they urged. Fear is a natural human emotion, and powerful. Before the Lord, think about times you have reacted to disaster with anxiety. What was that experience like? One of the big take-aways from our women’s Bible study on emotions last summer was that emotions are not something that just happen to us, that are beyond our control. Our emotions, like every other part of us, must be brought under the authority of God’s word. Let’s ask the Lord to use Psalm 11 to train our emotions away from panic and toward trust. This psalm, and many others, remind us that God has never been, and will never be, knocked off His throne. He sees what’s going on, and He has the power to protect and defend His own.

Perhaps you are like me: One weakness of my prayer life is a shortage of praise. It’s really easy to jump right into a long list of prayer requests. My prayers do include thanksgiving, which is good and appropriate, but usually me-flavored. Thank You for my home, my family. Praise, though, is all about God. The Psalms are a treasure because they teach us to praise. Even though Psalm 11 does not include an explicit call to praise the Lord, it provides content for praise. Take time today to praise God from this psalm. For example, praise God as you meditate on Him as a refuge, like “a castle built high and strong so those within are safe from the enemy’s assault … like a strong tower the enemy cannot scale.”* I feel sure that developing the daily habit of sincere, content-rich praise will prepare us to respond with trust in the sovereign Lord on the day disaster falls.

Calvary Family

Mario shared a personal story about a friend reminding him, “The Lord is your provider,” when he was anxious about moving his family to LA to attend seminary fulltime. Do you know someone whose world has been rocked and who might be tossed between fear and faith? Pray that he or she will run to the Lord for refuge and experience His protection. Ask God how you might encourage him or her to follow David’s example in Psalm 11. Not glibly – “Everything will turn out OK” – but rather acknowledging that the storm, the battle, may rage for a time. The Lord is a refuge that stands.

Thank you for praying for our junior high and high school students as they took part in winter camp two weeks ago. On the last day, one of the adults expressed appreciation for the “oneness” of the group. He talked about the absence of drama and commended the students for cheering on one another. Austin wrote, “This was a huge encouragement and a sign that the Lord is at work in our group.”

Next Monday, March 31, members of Refuge, our young adults’ group, are volunteering at a Young Life program held at The Hub, a community center in Orange. Every Monday evening, Young Life hosts about 50 teens in foster care for dinner, games, and informal mentoring. Young Life also provides transportation; without it, many of the youth would be unable to attend. Many of the teens live in group homes, and this Young Life group has become their family. We can join in this good work by praying for these foster youth who have experienced so much loss and hardship. A typical foster youth has experienced abuse or neglect, loss of home and family, broken relationships, frequent placement and school changes. Many have been “in the system” for years. They have missed out on the love and care and guidance from parents that God intended. Ask the Lord to use our young adults in their lives in even small ways, reflecting the love and concern of God to them.

In Christ,
Carol Gilbert

* Mario quoted Thomas Watson, an English Puritan preacher, 1620-1686.

* This is an abbreviated version of our weekly prayer blog. For the full version, including congregation prayer requests, subscribe here.