What Message do You Preach to Yourself?
Every single day, we preach a message to ourselves. Think about it. You have a little voice in your head that tells you a gospel every single day. Now, it may not be The Gospel. It might not be the truth about Jesus Christ, but it’s some kind of truth-telling you who you should be and how you should live, and more importantly, where you should find your security.
You know, I’ve been thinking a lot about King David. He’s my favorite character in all of the Bible. I love reading about him and his story. Here’s a man who had all sorts of trials in his life from the time he was young, he had a giant that wanted to kill him. He had another giant later in his life that wanted to kill him. His own son wanted to kill him. His adopted Dad, Saul, wanted to kill him. This man had all sorts of problems and yet he wrote this statement several times, and especially here in Psalm 16, but other places as well. He said, “Preserve me O God, for in you I take refuge.”
I have to imagine that he would go up into the hills of Israel and he would sit there. He would write these psalms contemplating on how God was his security, his fortress and his refuge. Nothing else in his life mattered. No other thing brought him security, except for God alone. Would that same thing be said of you? Maybe there’s something that you find your security in. Maybe it’s your good looks or your skills. Maybe it’s your past. Maybe it’s your education.
What is Your Fortress?
What is your fortress that you hide under saying well this means the most to me and so I will be secure here? If it’s not God, I’m telling you, it will crumble. But David, he realized nothing would bring him security, not his battles, not his skills, not his armies, it was only his King, so he can write things like this, “God you are my refuge.” Then, down in verse 6 of Psalm 16, he says, “The lines for me have fallen in pleasant places. Indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.”
Our inheritance is God alone. The beautiful places are God’s presence. You see, the very thing that brings us security in this life isn’t what we do. It isn’t what we’ve accomplished, but it’s who we’re with and that is God Almighty. My hope for you today is that you will find your security and your refuge in God that whatever it is that you’re finding dependence upon or safety in, that you’ll push that aside and realize God is the only one worth hiding in every single day, so let him be your fortress today.
