Turmoil is a part of life. The headlines and news alerts produce a steady flow uncertainty and events to worry about. Personal relationships can bring a daily dose of drama. Disappointment is common. All too often the question, “where is God in all of this?”, creeps into our thoughts. Thankfully, this is not all there is to life. Underneath and around the turmoil something more compelling and more sure is at work.
Psalm 62 takes you back to the place of safety and security. King David’s life was full of strife, attack and turmoil. But, David’s security is that safety is found not in changing circumstances but in his unchanging God. Because his God is his life’s constant, he is not shaken by the daily turmoil and drama.
David knows that running to God in faithful, loving obedience is his place of safety. He rejoices that God knows him intimately. He knows that his God has promised to shield him in loving-kindness. Therefore, what can man do to him or to you!
In this same light, your children are always in the process of change. The child you thought you understood yesterday is a mystery today. This should not be surprising. The 18 year ride from infancy to exiting your home is like a giant roller coaster. There are times, as the coaster slowly inches higher, that seem to last forever. Then another pinnacle on the track is reached and change happens with breath-taking speed.
Through all of this God is your rock, your refuge, your place of safety. David’s confidence in this Psalm is not that nothing difficult will happen to him. His confidence is in his faithful God. His spirit can be quieted. By trusting and obeying God, David does not need the confirmation of circumstances to know peace and safety. He trusts his God as he follows his paths.
Seek the direction of the Holy Spirit in his word and trust God to be the faithful God that he is.
Only in God is your heart secure. Only in God is safety.
Let all that I am wait quietly before God,
for my hope is in him.
He alone is my rock and my salvation,
my fortress where I will not be shaken.
My victory and honor come from God alone.
He is my refuge, a rock where no enemy can reach me.
Psalm 62:5-7