O Tne Joys of Those Who Take Refuge in Him!

O The Joys of Those Who Take Refuge In Him! Psalm 34.8 Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in Him. I will extol the LORD at all times; His praise will always be on my lips. 2 I will glory in the LORD; let the afflicted hear and rejoice. 3 Glorify the LORD with me; let us exalt His name together. This Psalm was written by David at a horrible time in his life. It was very bitter and yet here he is giving thanks. How can this be? He has been anointed king over Israel while Saul was still in office. Saul had the crown and the palace but David had the anointing. That made King Saul very jealous. He did not know how David would ascend to the throne. Would he take it by force or let the natural course of events take place? Saul did not know David very well. But David knew Saul. He was a spear thrower. And he gave the command to hunt David down. After that he had to flee from Saul. For an entire decade all the way through his 20’s until he was 30 David was on the run from Saul. It was a nightmarish hell. He wrote this psalm after he had to fake being insane before Abimilech. God was with him. David once more was safe. As far as he knew this was his lot in life. The dreams of ascending to King over Israel came down to running for his life, getting enough food for each day and hoping that Saul would never catch him. However David did say one day Saul is going to kill me. But David thought to himself, “One of these days I will be destroyed by the hand of Saul.” (I Samuel 27.1) That shows where his emotional being was at one point. We could probably relate a lot to David during this time we are in. Today is Thanksgiving Sunday! This is going to be a different thanksgiving than we have ever experienced before and right on it’s heels comes Christmas. We keep trying to recapture what we have lost not realizing that C.S. Lewis said, “Reality never repeats. “ Be thankful for the memories. Embrace the reality of today. Based on the recommendations from the CDC and our own state I will be remaining alone in my home Thursday. It’s going to be different. Even my daughters have said that. But I won’t be alone. In fact the house will be filled! With memories, with joy because of the LORD! We need to find our refuge in the LORD. The LORD. The LORD Jesus Christ Who was born outside and placed in a feeding trough for the animals! That is Christmas! That’s the original. All that we have added over the centuries and millenniums is not bad... it is just excessive. The bad thing is has crowded out Christ. This Christmas just maybe we can get back to some of the reality of the first. Yes reality doesn’t repeat but it can be remembered. And so with Thanksgiving let’s go back to the pilgrims. Here’s some things we tend to forget. The Pilgrims struggled to build homes, and many families crowded into the few homes that were built. Food was scarce, and many Pilgrims starved to death that first winter. ... In the first winter, nearly half of the pilgrims struggling to build the Plymouth settlement died from cold and sickness. Even before they landed... Diseases, storms, vigorous winds, ship damages, strong ocean currents, terrible living conditions and overcorwdness. they were forced into Plymouth, an unfamilar territory during a harsh winter. nobody knew any easy access to food, shelter or medicine. The Pilgrims first had to make shelters for their winter ordeal and find water and what food they could. Unfortunately for them, they had no knowledge of the local wild life and even if they had, they lacked the knowledge of how to capture it. David, in his struggles against Saul and against foreign powers in his time of running found that God, the LORD was his refuge. In this pandemic as we celebrate Thanksgiving differently this year, perhaps more than we ever have before, we can be thankful for the wonderful blessings God has poured out upon us even in this time of national and international stress, difficulty, disappointment, and wondering about the future. We have these blessings no matter what. The Joy of Knowing Him The greatest thing in the world is knowing Christ. It surpasses all other things Peace, strength, grace, eternal life Think of the blessing of praying! David and the LORD had a very close relationship. The Joy of His Protection Refuge Psalm 46.1 God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Psalm 18.2 The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. Psalm 91.2 I will say of the LORD, "He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust." Refuge= Seek refuge Flee for protection Trust in God Hope in the LORD .The Joy of His Provisions Philippians 4.19 and my God shall supply all of your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus. seeking first His Kingdom as He provides food to eat and clothes to wear Matthew 6.33 Watching God Himself provide Genesis 22. 8 Abraham answered, “God Himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” And the two of them went on together. The Joy of His Promises Being Fulfilled As we walk with Him Living them out Seeing Him work Overwhelmed by His goodness... Haiti 102 children in the schools, 64 in Pastor Joes! Amazing! Donation as we met. Thanks be to God for His Indescribable Gift! Yet to be Fulfilled His Return “Yes, I am coming soon.” Revelation 22.20 Thanks be to God! Sent from my iPad