Good morning.
As a good friend, what do you say to someone whom you believe to be in great peril? Run away! Running away seems like a good suggestion when you see someone who is in danger and obviously overmatched. But what if we see only the danger and are blind to that other person’s security?
Psalm 11 begins with a reaction to the advice given to David in his struggles against Saul and the armies of Israel. “Run away!” is the advice his friends had given to him.
It had to be tempting to follow that advice, to trust in the speed of his feet rather than the faithfulness of God. This is David’s response as recorded in Psalm 11:
In the Lord I take refuge;
how can you say to my soul,
“Flee like a bird to your mountain,
2 for behold, the wicked bend the bow;
they have fitted their arrow to the string
to shoot in the dark at the upright in heart;
3 if the foundations are destroyed,
what can the righteous do?”
4 The Lord is in his holy temple;
the Lord‘s throne is in heaven;
his eyes see, his eyelids test the children of man.
5 The Lord tests the righteous,
but his soul hates the wicked and the one who loves violence.
6 Let him rain coals on the wicked;
fire and sulfur and a scorching wind shall be the portion of their cup.
7 For the Lord is righteous;
he loves righteous deeds;
the upright shall behold his face.
God sees, God knows, and God cares. He is our refuge and our strength. Running away to the fortresses of this world is not the answer. It is far better, when faced with problems greater than our own abilities, when we feel the need to run, let’s run into the arms of God.
Vern