You Are My Refuge
A Maskil of David, when he was in the cave. A Prayer.
142 With my voice I cry out to the Lord;
with my voice I plead for mercy to the Lord.
2 I pour out my complaint before him;
I tell my trouble before him.
3 When my spirit faints within me,
you know my way!
In the path where I walk
they have hidden a trap for me.
4 Look to the right and see:
there is none who takes notice of me;
no refuge remains to me;
no one cares for my soul.
5 I cry to you, O Lord;
I say, “You are my refuge,
my portion in the land of the living.”
6 Attend to my cry,
for I am brought very low!
Deliver me from my persecutors,
for they are too strong for me!
7 Bring me out of prison,
that I may give thanks to your name!
The righteous will surround me,
for you will deal bountifully with me.
When you need rescue, do you immediately cry out to the Lord? For many of us, our natural inclination in the face of fear is to take our questions to Google, send a complaint via text message, or post a less-than-thoughtful response to social media. Instead, what does this psalm model for us? Take some time to study this psalm on your own, and then, consider memorizing verse 5 — or another verse that is sinking into your heart — and ask the Holy Spirit to keep nudging you back to the truth that God is our refuge.