Psalm 61

Psalm 61 is a short but powerful set of verses as David tells us about God and his relationship with Him.  He begins by making it very clear that they are in a relationship.  “God, listen to me shout, bend an ear to my prayer”.  David is willing to take his concerns and needs to God.  He is not afraid to let God into his life, in fact, he brings his needs and struggles to the Father.  David reveals that he sometimes gets a long way from God.  He gets out there on his own and needs to be pulled back closely to God.  “When I’m far from anywhere, down to my last gasp, I call out”.  David is human and dealt with struggles just like all of us tend to – tackle them ourselves and when we can’t handle it any longer – then cry out to God for help.  It is our nature and seems to be the way we tend to handle issues.  But we learn here that God responds to those prayers and cries for help.  And God gives us a place to come that is safe and protected when we call out.  “You’ve always given me breathing room, a place to get away from it all”.  Do you go to God for solace and peace?  He is always there waiting to draw us to Himself.  We just need to come to the place we actually slow down and call out to Him to bring us out of the chaos.  He desires to give us a place of peace in His presence. 

David tells us that God has given us a “lifetime pass to your safe-house, an open invitation as your guest”.  Have you considered that before?  God’s house is never sold out – it is never full – we will never see a no vacancy sign there.  When we come to Him to find His peace and protection, He won’t be too busy and unavailable for our needs.  But we need to realize that this is an invitation and it requires action on our part.  We must receive what He offers – it is not forced upon us – it is our choice to come into His presence and to take advantage of the promises He gives us.  Just like salvation and the grace He offers us to our sin problem through the blood of Jesus spilled on the cross.  If we don’t receive His gift – it does nothing for us.  It is only in the receiving that God’s grace becomes effective in our life as we make it our own.  David makes that clear here.  God is always ready to bring us to Himself if we receive the invitation.  “You’ve always taken me seriously God, made me welcome among those who know and love you”.   That’s an important truth we need to keep in mind.  God always listens and takes us seriously.  He doesn’t ignore our requests or treat them as unimportant or stupid.  God not only takes us seriously, He also welcomes us into His presence.  And He tells us that if we come to Him, we will be welcome in the presence of those who are His own too.  That tells us how the church should act – we should love people exactly the way God loves us.  That is the standard by which we should live.  It is not a place for those without issues.  The church is where people should be able to come to experience God’s perfect love.  And David ends this lesson in how God works by telling us “I’ll be the poet who sings your glory- and live what I sing every day”.  David is not going to keep God’s work to himself.  He will let the world know by his word and more importantly, by his life, what God is up to and has done in and through his life.  We are to be beacons of God’s faithfulness to those around us.  Do the people in your circle know just how faithful your God is?  Do people see Him at work in your life by the way you live?  That is what God desires from us – to proclaim His love to those in our patch!