David spoke the words of this song to the Lord on the day the Lord rescued him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul.  He said:  “The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my mountain where I seek refuge.  My shield,  the horn of my salvation, my stronghold, my refuge and my Savior, You have saved me from violence.  2 Samuel 22:1-3 HCSB

With the faithful You prove Yourself faithful;  with the blameless man You prove Yourself blameless;  with the pure You prove Yourself pure, but with the crooked You prove Yourself shrewd.  You rescue an afflicted people, but Your eyes are set against the proud-You humble them.  2 Samuel  22:26-28 HCSB

Our scripture passage today comes from The Song of David which is all of chapter 22 in 2 Samuel.  We all know David as the young shepherd boy that slayed the giant with a slingshot, but the story of David is a wonderful story and if you have not read about his whole life then you really should.  David was anointed to succeed Saul as king.  Now Saul literally went stark raving mad and he would love David one minute and try to kill him the next.  David was pursued by Saul for years.  David had a perfect opportunity to kill Saul in a cave, but knew that this was not what God wanted and David didn’t want to sin against God.  Eventually God allowed Saul to be killed by an enemy and David then sang this song.  After all these years, can you imagine the relief David felt? The first part of our scripture passage describes God as our fortress.  David uses all the words in verses 1-3 to describe God often in the many psalms that he wrote.  David no doubt accredited God with keeping him safe during his many battles.  David was also a great warrior and military strategist.  He gives all the credit to God for these things.

Our second scripture passage tells us that God will treat us as we treat others. Galatians 6:7 explains that we will reap what we sow.

I am sure you have often heard the phrase, “what goes around, comes around”.  Some people today, describe this as karma.

The term karma, as used in Hinduism or Buddhism, refers to the sum of a person’s actions in this and previous states of existence being viewed in deciding their fate in future existences.  Now this is the formal definition from the dictionary, but the informal definition or how it is used today is simply, “what goes around, comes around”.  Now we Christians know that Karma has nothing to do with it, God deals with us as we deal with others. It’s in the Bible.

This is where that whole, “treat others as you would like to be treated” (Luke 6:31) comes into play.  You see God tells us to do good.  He tells us to treat others with love and kindness.  He tells us to forgive others.  As a matter of fact, He tells us that if we fail to forgive others, He will not forgive us (Matthew 6:15).  Ouch!  He also tells us to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us (Matthew 5:44).

Now I realize that some of you are going to read this and continue to be bitter against people who have hurt you.  Some will read this and refuse to let go of that grudge that you have been carrying for a long time, it’s your choice.  You can be mad if you want to, but I felt it my duty to warn you against that.  You see if you want love and forgiveness, you have to give love and forgiveness.

David spent over ten years being pursued by Saul.  During this time, God kept him safe.  Eventually, God allowed Saul to be killed by an enemy army.   Galatians 6:9 tells us that we should not get tired of doing what is right for we will be blessed at the proper time if we don’t give up.  Maybe you have been waiting for God to deliver you from a certain situation and are getting frustrated.  Well, seek refuge in Him.  He truly is your mountain where you can hide for safety.  Trust in Him and He will take good care of you.  Don’t become frustrated when it seems as though wickedness is winning.  Know that God has good plans for you (Jeremiah 29:11).  Know that He wants to work all things out for you good if you love Him and are doing His work (Romans 8:28).  God has work for each and everyone of us to do.  I have learned that if I do His work, it keeps my mind off of those that are coming against me.  The battle is the Lord’s (2  Chronicles 20:15).

Romans 3:23 tells us that we have all sinned.  We all need forgiveness.  If we harbor bitterness and unforgiveness against our enemies, this is what we will get from God.  I promise you, you don’t want that!

God wants to protect us from our enemies.  He wants us to have peace and joy in the midst of our troubles.  Won’t you seek refuge in Him today?

Have a great day!