Refuge part 2

David: A Man After God's Own Heart
Refuge: Part II

What kind of man sacrifices safety for responsibility?
The short version: A man who is always ready to step forward and defend those in need.
Or apparently a really great husband.

Long version? Well, here goes nothing.

If you sit back and read Psalms for any given period of time there are going to be two major themes running through most of the book. Any guesses?
1. Rejoice! (Psalms 92: 4-5)
2. Save Me! (Psalms 69:1-3)

In the Psalms there are 43 references to the word "refuge" alone
Refuge
1. Shelter or protection from danger, trouble, etc.: to take refuge from a storm.
2. A place of shelter, protection, or safety.
3. Anything to which one has recourse for aid, relief, or escape.
Synonyms
1.  security, safety. 2.  asylum, retreat, sanctuary, haven, stronghold.

So, being chased through Israel, surrounded by people who are looking to him for protection, constantly praying to God to be saved. David is looking for a refuge at the same time he's acting as a refuge. Read the rest of Psalms 69 sometime, its a heavy, vivid prayer that begins with "I'm trapped in a mire and there is no place to stand" and ends with "you will be worshiped all through this land." and it gets even more difficult, because one day a messenger shows up with news of a Philistine invasion.

1 Samuel 23:1-5
 1 When David was told, “Look, the Philistines are fighting against Keilah and are looting the threshing floors,”
2 he inquired of the LORD, saying, “Shall I go and attack these Philistines?”   The LORD answered him, “Go, attack the Philistines and save Keilah.”

 3 But David’s men said to him, “Here in Judah we are afraid. How much more, then, if we go to Keilah against the Philistine forces!”
 4 Once again David inquired of the LORD, and the LORD answered him, “Go down to Keilah, for I am going to give the Philistines into your hand.”
5 So David and his men went to Keilah, fought the Philistines and carried off their livestock. He inflicted heavy losses on the Philistines and saved the people of Keilah.

Now note: nowhere in the job description of "fugitive" is the requirements to save people, let alone cities. In fact for all David's running and hiding from Saul he rarely ever acts like someone who needs to be running. Saving Keilah isn't something that David was required to do, in fact it was probably Saul's job to rally and army and stop invaders. But no, Saul is keeping himself busy with other things. And its not like God showed up and said "Go save Keilah." David takes the inititative and seeks the Lord's direction in this matter. Notice the change in the answers: David comes and asks "Should I go?" And God says "Yes, go." David comes back and says "My men are afraid." God says "Go, you'll win."

So, what kind of man sacrifices safety for responsibility?
A man who does not believe that he is the one keeping himself safe.

Way back at the beginning of watching David's life unfold we see him stand up against Goliath, a 9 foot trained killer, with a stick and a slingshot, and he did it because of faith in God's promises and because he was unwilling to watch someone stand there and call God a liar. And this is David, who is sticking with that choice to trust in God's promises. He is living the life that all of us should be living, one that acts like the things we are promised will actually happen.

In this case, we are focusing on the promise of safety, of refuge.

Zeph 3:16-17
16 On that day
they will say to Jerusalem,
“Do not fear, Zion;
do not let your hands hang limp.
17 The LORD your God is with you,
the Mighty Warrior who saves.
He will take great delight in you;
in his love he will no longer rebuke you,
but will rejoice over you with singing.”

Now, I think the whole idea of a warrior God has been kind of lost in the last couple generations, but that's a topic for another time.
But sidenote: what do you think it means by their hands hanging limp? (Surrender.)
Take a moment to think about the people that make you feel safe, that you know you could go to if you were in trouble, that would come to your help if you were in danger. I know that if someone broke into my house and tried to harm my sisters I'd be doing everything I could to protect them. I would fong them, there would be pain, lots of pain, their entrails would become their extrails... etc etc etc. If that person isn't your dad, I'm truly sorry, that's tragic, but anyway, think about that person and then think about God and think about Matthew 7:11

Matthew 7:11
If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!

If your dad or big brother or best friend would go to such great lengths to keep you safe, how much more will an all-powerful, all-knowing God?

Now for us, sitting in this room. Most of us will not be put into a place where we have to escape from an army or protect their families from intruders or travel to France to save our best friends. And believe me, I pray every day that we don't have to, but I've lost count of the evenings I've spent on the phone or sitting on a couch with a friend, listening to them pour their hearts out, with all the pain and confusion and stress and drama getting everywhere, and its not because I can say the magic words and make the pain go away, that I can wave my magic wand and make all their enemies disappear in a poof of smoke, as much as I wish I could its rare that I can do more than tell them I'll pray for them. They came and talked to me because they felt safe to do so, and in that way I was able to be a refuge for them. And I don't know how or where those situations will arise in you guys lives but they will if you are willing and live the kinds of lives that makes you a refuge, and I wish I could give you a ten point list of things you can do to become a sanctuary, but mainly it means being willing to and loving people.