Psalm 57:1
“Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me! For my soul trusts in You; and in the shadow of Your wings I will make my refuge, until these calamities have passed by.”
No matter where we live, we are faced with the storms of life. Growing up in California, I was constantly reminded of the great earthquake that was looming on the horizon. We were told that because of the fault lines, one day California would fall into the sea. Upon moving to Florida, the new fear was the hurricane. A few years back, a particularly large hurricane had developed in the warm waters of the South Atlantic. The atmospheric conditions were such to allow this storm to grow larger and larger as it traveled north. All of the models had it making landfall just outside of my home town. Having never experienced a hurricane before, I was glued to the Weather Channel for information. A hurricane this large had never been tracked before; it was larger than the state of Texas, and had wind speeds over 140 mph. People up and down the coast of Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina were heading west for safety. One news station reported that hotels, as far as Kentucky were filling up, as people searched for a safe place in the storm. I felt stuck. I did not know where to go. In a last-minute decision, we drove across the state and stayed with friends, figuring though we might not be avoiding the storm, at least we would have the comfort of going through it together. Fortunately, the storm moved north, missing Florida all together, and reducing in size drastically as it met cooler waters. I came to the realization, no matter where we live, we are faced with the storms of life, and must determine where we will run for safety.
David, facing the calamities of a wicked king seeking to destroy his life, fled to the Caves of Adullum. However, it was not the security of this hidden cave that comforted him. Instead, he writes, “And in the shadow of Your wings I will make my refuge.” True peace will only come when we make the Lord our hiding place. Scripture is filled with invitations to come to Him, no matter what storms we are facing, and find safety, rest, peace and even guidance.
“. . . casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.” 1 Peter 5:7
“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28
“Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee: He shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.” Psalm 55:22
Will you make the shadow of His wings your hiding place today?
Pastor Jim
Psalm 57
This Psalm is entitled “Prayer for Safety”
- Verse 2, “I will cry out to God Most High. To God who performs all things for me.” God performing all things for you, do you understand what David means? Verse 3 puts this in perspective. How can this change your perspective?
- Verse 5 & 11 should not only be read but be put into practice in our lives. What in your life need to be replaced by God being exalted?
In this Psalm, David uses the illustration of a shepherd to speak of God’s care for those who belong to Him. This Psalm speaks of the benefits true to all who are in a covenant relationship with God. He speaks of God’s provision, comfort, protection and care. Jesus used the same illustration in John 10 when He said, 
Galilee was known for sudden and unpredictable storms. The wind increases rapidly, causing the Sea of Galilee to become a turbulent and dangerous sea. We read, on a few occasions, the lives of the disciples were at risk because of these great storms. In a very practical way, their experience illustrates for us the trials of life.
Out on the Sea of Galilee, in the midst of a great tempest, we find the disciples fearing for their lives. When they cry out to Jesus for help, He responds with a question. “Why are you afraid?” Naturally, they had much reason to fear. The storm was great, many in the boat were unaccustomed to the sea and it’s ways, and fear has a way of spreading from one to another. To make matters worse, when they looked to Jesus, He seemed to not care about their plight. He was sleeping while they were suffering. It seems they had reason to fear. On the other hand, they had been traveling with Jesus. They lived through the chapter we just read. They saw Him cleanse the leper and heal the crowds. If they had only looked back at what Jesus had done, they would have had great comfort for what they were facing.
Jim Gallagher 