Ruth 1,2; Psalm 53; 61; 2 Corinthians 5

“Hear my cry, O God; Attend to my prayer. From the end of the earth I will cry to You, when my heart is overwhelmed; lead me to the rock that is higher than I. For You have been a shelter for me, a strong tower from the enemy.” Psalm 61:1-3

“The LORD repay your work, and a full reward be given you by the LORD God of Israel, under whose wings you have come for refuge." Ruth 2:12

Is your heart overwhelmed today? Do you need a strong tower from the enemy? Two of our passages deal with people in crisis, people who need their God to be a strong tower from the enemy and a refuge from the storm. David writes this psalm at a time that he had been in exile because of the rebellion of his son Absalom. David had fled across the Jordan River as an army from Hebron, led by Absalom, came to take Jerusalem. He did not want to face his son in battle. Rather than taking a stand in Jerusalem, a victory that would have surely been David’s, the King fled with his armies in to exile. David cries out to God, “Hear my cry, O God, attend to my prayer.” (Psalm 61:2) In Ruth we read the story of Naomi, Ruth and Boaz. Naomi returns to Jerusalem, broken and destitute, with her daughter in law Ruth, a foreigner. Both women are widows and without a redemptive miracle, they will both be poorly outcast and beggars or for a young, widowed woman, even worse, sent to the streets. I am sure Naomi cried out, O God, hear my cry…attend to my prayer! When we are in crisis it seems more like the end of the world, rather than the ends of the earth! Many a time I have cried out, “Lord, lead me, lead me to THE Rock, that is higher than I.” When we are so low, there is only one place to go and that is up. But when we are feeling so low, up seems so far away. But God is THE Rock and He does lift us up to a place that is higher than our circumstances, higher than us. “He is the Rock, his work is perfect; for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he.” (Deut. 32:4) “The Eternal God is my refuge and underneath is His everlasting arms.” (Deut. 33:27) God is faithful, He is our Rock, He is our Refuge. God delivers Naomi and Ruth, God rescues David, and God delivers and rescues us. Perhaps today, you need the deliverance and rescuing of your God. Today is your day, your day to cry out to God and a day to be led to the Rock, Jesus Christ.

Victorious in Christ,
Carol Danna

Next Reading: Ruth 3, 4; Psalm 64-65; 2 Corinthians 6