My rock of refuge
by Tatiana Overduin
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In you, O Lord, I find refuge, let me never more be put to shame (Psalm 71:1).
Read Psalm 71:1–6
This is one of my favourite psalms, among many. Perhaps it’s because I am immediately reminded of the tune by the Iona Community or because I enjoy collecting rocks (I have rocks all around my house and garden – some with Scripture verses I have written on them). Maybe it’s because I receive such great comfort from the verses of this psalm. What a great and everlasting comfort: God is always my refuge.
Yesterday was a precursor for today’s psalm as a model communicated about how, at all times, we can seek help from God alone for how to ‘love our enemies and to pray for those who persecute us’. Today, Psalm 71 informs us: ‘Deliver me, my God, from the hand of the wicked; from the grasp of those who are evil and cruel’ (verse 4). We are delivered when we seek God and follow his way: his model.
Here, we receive the comfort and reassurance that God is our solid, stable rock and protective refuge. We place our hope and confidence in him. From our mother’s womb and our birth, we have relied on God. And with the knowledge of this comfort, safety and reassurance, we praise God’s holy name.
God of overflowing love and grace, thank you for your holy word. Thank you for providing us with the richness that the psalms offer: fulfilling comfort over a spectrum of human emotion – suffering and sorrow, a symphony of joyous songs! Thank you, Lord, for being our safe, immovable place – truly offering us all that we need for all things. Lord, fill our hearts, teaching us to trust in you for everything. Fill our hearts with faith and love toward you and one another. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.
Tatiana is married to Jim, and they live at Largs North, a seaside location in Adelaide. They have two adult children and six grandchildren. This year, Tatiana looks forward to spending more time building her art therapy/knitting business, writing, gardening and enjoying an early morning beach walk. Tatiana gained a Bachelor of Arts in Theology from Australian Lutheran College in 1996. Both Tatiana and Jim attend worship at Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Adelaide.
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