In You O, Lord, I have Taken Refuge

March 11th
Psalm 31
1 In you, O LORD, I have taken refuge; let me never be put to shame; deliver me in your righteousness.
2 Turn your ear to me, come quickly to my rescue; be my rock of refuge, a strong fortress to save me.
3 Since you are my rock and my fortress, for the sake of your name lead and guide me.
4 Free me from the trap that is set for me, for you are my refuge.
5 Into your hands I commit my spirit; redeem me, O LORD, the God of truth.
6 I hate those who cling to worthless idols; I trust in the LORD.
7 I will be glad and rejoice in your love, for you saw my affliction and knew the anguish of my soul.
8 You have not handed me over to the enemy but have set my feet in a spacious place.
9 Be merciful to me, O LORD, for I am in distress; my eyes grow weak with sorrow, my soul and my body with grief.
10 My life is consumed by anguish and my years by groaning; my strength fails because of my affliction, [a] and my bones grow weak.
11 Because of all my enemies, I am the utter contempt of my neighbors; I am a dread to my friends— those who see me on the street flee from me.
12 I am forgotten by them as though I were dead; I have become like broken pottery.
13 For I hear the slander of many; there is terror on every side; they conspire against me and plot to take my life.
14 But I trust in you, O LORD; I say, "You are my God."
15 My times are in your hands; deliver me from my enemies and from those who pursue me.
16 Let your face shine on your servant; save me in your unfailing love.
17 Let me not be put to shame, O LORD, for I have cried out to you; but let the wicked be put to shame and lie silent in the grave. [b]
18 Let their lying lips be silenced, for with pride and contempt they speak arrogantly against the righteous.
19 How great is your goodness, which you have stored up for those who fear you, which you bestow in the sight of men on those who take refuge in you.
20 In the shelter of your presence you hide them from the intrigues of men; in your dwelling you keep them safe from accusing tongues. 21 Praise be to the LORD, for he showed his wonderful love to me when I was in a besieged city. 22 In my alarm I said, "I am cut off from your sight!" Yet you heard my cry for mercy when I called to you for help. 23 Love the LORD, all his saints! The LORD preserves the faithful, but the proud he pays back in full. 24 Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the LORD.
I’ll admit it. My pet peeve while driving happens when I’m in the left lane on the Merritt Parkway on my way to work and traffic slows down. But it seems that the right lane doesn’t slow down as much and sure enough, one or more of the cars that passes me on the right will move over into the left lane ahead of me. Noooo,,,I cry out. You don’t deserve that. Now, these people aren’t necessarily evil or wicked, just more resourceful and maybe less courteous. But I keep hoping that they’ll get theirs. This brings me to verse 23 of this Psalm, “The LORD preserves the faithful, but the proud he pays back in full.” We love to see people who profit unjustly get their comeuppance. But when? But should this really be our concern? Shouldn’t we focus and pray about the good things God has given us instead of being envious of the prosperity of others?
A few years back I heard our own Father Peter say that one of his Lenten disciplines was to allow at least one person to get ahead of him that wasn’t necessarily their right. That’s something I try to follow, especially in Lent, but at other times I’m not always as successful. But Sue will attest to seeing me wave my hand in the sign of the cross and say, “My prayer is that you don’t kill anyone driving that way.” It doesn’t have to be while driving, it could be in the checkout line at the grocery store or the lunch line at school where we allow someone to get ahead when it’s supposed to be our turn.
So if you find yourself in tough times and circumstances, pray to God for His mercy. But put the retribution aside.
-Ken Paulsen

Prayer- Lord, we are surrounded by enemies of your love. Still, we look to your salvation.