Keep me free from the trap that is set for me, for you are my refuge. Psalm 31:4

I have often found myself hemmed in.  I didn’t see it coming.  I traveled along, thought things were fine as I acted upon the advice of well-meaning people, but I ended up at a dead end nonetheless.  I tried to re-trace my steps to find someone to blame only to discover that my way was shaped by well-meaning companions who were also doing the best they could to dispense advice.  They just weren’t God.  So, I stood in a place where it was impossible to go forward and equally impossible to go back.  It was as if I ascended a mountain through switchback turns and the only way was forward. 

Perhaps you know what I’m talking about.  You probably also know that while we rail and fret, God is listening.  It isn’t our anxiety that brings Him to the scene to start problem solving.  He knew long ago that we’d be here.   He went ahead and put everything in place to make a way of escape.  His sovereignty allowed the trap so He could devise a glorious solution for our salvation and His glory.  What’s difficult to see is that the trap is really our friend.  It seems preposterous that it’s our doorway to glory, but it is! 

Traps are illusions.  Traps take us to hidden doors that only God can see.  Traps lead us to God’s arms.  Traps show us that God is the hero of our story.  Traps reveal the brokenness and limitations of the people around us.  Traps reveal the power and glory of our Father.  Traps end one way of life and introduce us to a better way.  Traps offer us the chance to embrace new spiritual paradigms.

Perhaps what I’m cursing under my breath is really something for which I should give thanks. I also need to stop looking for what I think salvation will look like and ask God to give me supernatural vision for the door that leads to spacious places.  This wall is God’s window to my future.

I will stop crying and dare to believe.  Amen

But from everlasting to everlasting the LORD’s love is with those who fear him, and his righteousness with their children’s children.   Psalms 103:17

I’ve done it.  Have you?  I’ve not only attempted to live in the present, which is God’s will for me, but emotionally, I’ve lived in the past as well as the future.  None of those options is good for me. 

How can I know if I am living in the past?  When I rehearse it and wish there had been a different outcome.  I review what was done to me and fantasize what life could be like had I not been victimized.  I also review my sins, even the unintentional mistakes I made from not knowing better, and ache to travel back to fix them.  I live in the wonderland of wishful thinking and the grief of how it is.

How can I know if I am living in the future?  When I borrow tomorrow’s trouble and decide that I can’t possibly handle what’s coming.  I assess the way things are today, forecast the future, and cast it in stone. Believing that my prediction is accurate, I succumb to fear and unwarranted grief.  How many times have I said ~ “I can’t handle tomorrow because . . .”

How can I have peace about the past?  By believing that God is a redeemer of it.  I can’t mess anything up so badly that He can’t bless me with abundant life.  His mercies started afresh at 12:01 a.m. this morning so I put the past behind me and stand in the faith of His goodness.

How can I abandon a fear of the future?  By trusting that He’s already there.  Nothing I do is going to take Him by surprise.  The scriptures about tomorrow are rock solid and will sustain the weight of my expectations, and my successes and failures. 

The past and the future are out of bounds.  I’m not supposed to play God.  He is the only one who operates outside of time.  He equipped me to live today on the wings of momentary grace. 

For my yesterday’s, redeem.  For today, sustain.  For tomorrow, bolster my faith that You’ve got it covered.  Amen

Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness!  You have given me relief when I was in distress.  Be gracious to me and hear my prayer!  Psalm 4:1

When I’m in trouble and need someone to help me, I tend to remember the last time I was in distress and someone came to show me compassion and kindness.  The memory of it makes my heart long for it to happen again.  You’ve heard women say to one another, “When I’m sick, I just want my mother.”  Whether our mother is still living or not, the desire for her to care for us like she once did is so real that it leaves us aching.  No matter how old we are, we wish she would come.

This is what David is feeling in this prayer to God.  He begs for God to answer him and come to him like He did the last time David was in distress.  David is remembering the power of God’s arrival. While the memory is robust, it doesn’t eradicate the need for another miracle.

I can’t live on yesterday’s memories.  While they may inspire me and build my faith, my need for God will accompany me until eternity.  I will always need to be His child.  I will always need a Father.  I will always be small.  I will always need reminders that He is bigger than my storms.  I will always come to the end of myself.  I will always need all that He is.

What keeps God coming time after time?  His grace.  His faithfulness.  If He gets tired of hearing distress calls, I’ll be in trouble.  But unlike human beings, he is anxious for me to need Him.  The more I desire Him, the better he likes it.  There’s no such thing as ‘too needy’ with God.

When any of us face an ongoing struggle, the kind that spans years, we have down days when God speaks into our discouragement and gives us the fuel to make it another 24 hours.   The next day, however, brings new battles.  Though I don’t plan to plummet into unbelief, if things look dire, I can echo David’s cry. 

“Be gracious to me, Father, and answer me.  Hear my prayer!”

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.  Psalm 91:1

 ‘Secret place’ in Hebrew is mistar ~ ‘a concealed place where treasures are stored.’  This place is actually ‘in Christ’ and the treasure ‘is Christ’.

The secret of my hiding place is that there is spiritual power there.  It is resident in Christ and when I am near Him, He imparts it to me.  I rest in my spirit though I’m physically stressed.  I’m strong like steel even though people around me expect me to break.  Though all hell unravels, I am of sound mind and possess unshakeable calm. You have been a place of safety for the poor and need in times of trouble. Brutal enemies pounded us like a heavy rain but you were our shelter.  Isaiah 25:4

So, why do I temporarily leave this place?  Because life throws me a curve I didn’t anticipate and I focus on my circumstances.  Or, a faithless person talks me out of my peace.  I cave to their flawed logic and sink like Peter in waters way over my head.

For every child of God, there is a secure fortress.  There is no storm too furious.  No foe too mighty.  No tragedy too hopeless.  No grief too consuming.  I am a child who runs home continually, reminding my enemy all the way ~ “Wait till I tell my Father.” He doesn’t like that, by the way.

I’m going to believe you.  Every foe today is already defeated.  They are very well aware of their end and just pretend to wield a power that isn’t theirs.  I’m not fooled and holy laughter erupts from my spirit.  In Jesus’ name, Amen

A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you. You will only observe with your eyes and see the punishment of the wicked.  Psalm 91:7-8

God is powerful enough to protect us even when thousands fall all around us, but does this mean that God will save us every single time?  Hardly.  God did not spare His own Son from suffering.  While on mission, His life was protected even though He had many enemies who sought to destroy Him.  God kept Jesus until “It is finished” was spoken from the cross.

My father fought in WWII, in the European theatre.  In one battle, his platoon was hemmed in at the front lines.  They dug a trench, spent the night, and knew that the probability of death in the morning was almost certain.  Before leaving home for Europe, Dad set out to memorize Psalm 91.  That night in the trenches, he recited it until the dawn broke.  When the sun came up, the fighting grew fierce and several hours in, the heavy artillery stopped.  Looking around, he discovered that he was the only one who had survived.  He retreated backwards on his belly for many hours until he could set off on foot to join in with another platoon.

But on two other occasions, he was not spared harm.  Psalm 91 was still quoted from memory yet he was severely wounded.  So severely, in fact, that he was awarded 2 purple hearts for his bravery. 

Psalm 91 is not a spiritual rabbit’s foot.  It is an affirmation of trust in a powerful God who can choose to spare life or choose to extend grace if deliverance doesn’t fit with His overall purpose.  We never know which it will be, but we place ourselves into the hands of our Mighty God.  Nothing, absolutely nothing, causes him a moment of worry.  And nothing should cause us to distrust His promises.

I’ve lived long enough to see You spare my life and allow me to be wounded in battle.  I trust You with my life no matter Your decision.  Amen

Because Your lovingkindness is better than life, my lips will praise Thee.  Psalm 63:3

Our last dog was a beautiful golden retriever named Mollie.  She was a rescue and was four years old when we got her.  When we brought her home, I turned to her and said, “You just had your last bad day!” 

Getting to know Mollie’s quirks took some time. For four years, Mollie had been neglected and shoved in a back yard.  She had no shelter from the weather.  She was a captive to the heat, cold, rain, thunder, and lightening.  Though safe and with us, her fears continued to play out.  When Mollie went to the door to go out, we’d open it and she’d turn and run away.  When we’d call her to come back, she’d run further down the hall. 

It took us a good eighteen months to understand why she was so conflicted.  Though she wanted to go out, she was afraid we’d trap her outside.  We tried a bunch of things but here’s what finally worked.  We opened the door, stroked her, then turned our back to her so she felt no pressure from us.  With the choice truly being hers, she cautiously walked outside.

Quirks can be a nuisance without love. Think of what happens while we wait for Mollie to decide whether or not to go outside.  With the door open during a Georgia summer, the heat poured in the house.  In the winter, the heat escaped and cold poured in ~ all because our dog needed time to make up her mind.

Each of us have a story.  We come to God with triggers.  Some are afraid of silence; others, of noise.  Some have a fear of crowds; others, a fear of being alone.  The comforting thing is that God knows us intimately.  He knows how to scale the wall with just the right words and experience so that we’ll lose our shyness and trust Him.  He’s not stumped by our quirks nor do they put Him off.  Patiently, He works with each of us.  Cajoling and encouraging, He offers Himself as a companion.

Ever feel like you’re forever imprisoned by your past?  Like you’re making no progress?  God has the key to steps forward.  Go to the open door.   

Some of my objections to You spanned decades.  Oh Lord, You never stopped reaching out to help me.  Your lovingkindness is better than life.  Amen