Psalm 73: Location, Location, Location
"But for me it is good to be near God; I have made the Lord my refuge..." (v.28)
The experts say that there are only three things to consider when buying a piece of property; location, location, location. The same could be said about life. Life is about about location, location, location, and when you understand this you live in a radically different way. Confused? Let me point you to four ways in which location matters.
1. Location, location, location: You live in a dramatically fallen world.
You simply have to be prepared. You simply have to understand. You simply have to live with realistic expectations. You simply must bring a biblical understanding to the place where you now live or you will be constantly unprepared and disappointed. You and I live in a very, very, broken world where there is trouble on every side. Your body and your mind are affected by the fall and don't always work the way they should. Your family and friendships will not work as they were designed. The government over you does not function as it was created to function. The physical environment is broken and suffers under the weight of the fall. The Apostle Paul says it very well in Romans 8; "the whole world groans, waiting for redemption." There's no escaping it; you are located in a place where trouble of some kind will greet you every day. You live in a place where somehow, someway, temptation will greet you every day. The more you face the harsh reality of how broken your world is, the more you will live prepared for the troubles that come your way.
2. Location, location, location: The big battle is fought in your heart.
In acknowledging the brokenness of the world where you live, you do not want to give way to spiritual environmentalism where you blame all of your struggles on things outside of you. That was the mistake of the medieval monastery. The thought was that the way to live a righteous life was to separate yourself from the evil world around you; so the monastics built walled communities of separation. But as it turned out, these communities tended to repeat all of the ills of the surrounding world from which they had separated. Monasteries were a failure because they neglected one very significant biblical truth; the biggest danger to every human being is located inside of him not outside of him. There is something dark and deceitful that still lurks in the heart of every one of God's children who has not yet been fully glorified; sin. It is only ever the sin inside of me that draws and hooks me to the sin outside of me. The big battle for righteousness is always fought inside of you and not outside of you. Every day there is a war fought for control of your heart and your jealous Savior, with the zeal of gorgeous redemptive love, will not share your heart. He will not rest until your heart is ruled by him and him alone.
3. Location, location, location: You will run somewhere for refuge.
In the middle of trouble, when you are in the heat of the battle, you will run somewhere for refuge. You will run somewhere for rest, comfort, peace, encouragement, wisdom, healing, and strength. Asaph gets it right at the end of this psalm of trouble and hope; there is only one place to run where true protection, rest, and strength can be found. You and I must learn to make the Lord our refuge. The are many false refuges that we tend to run to. Perhaps in trouble you run to another person, hoping that they can be your own personal messiah. Perhaps you run to entertainment, hoping to numb your troubles away. Maybe you run to a substance, trying your best to turn off the pain. Maybe you are tempted to run to food or sex, fighting pain with pleasure. Since none of these things can provide the refuge which you seek, putting your hope there tends to just add disappointment to the trouble you're already experiencing. God really is your refuge and strength. Only he rules every location where your trouble exists. Only he controls all the relationships where disappointment will rear its head. Only he has the power to rescue and deliver you. Only he has the grace you need to face what you are facing. Only he holds the wisdom that, in trouble, you so desperately need. Only he is in and with you and for you at all times. He is the refuge of refuges. Do you run to him?
4. Location, location, location: Where you are heading, trouble will be no more.
You could argue that the biblical story is about three locations. The Garden in Genesis that was a location of perfection and beauty, but became a place of sin and trouble. The hill of Calvary that was a place of horrible suffering and transforming grace. And the New Jerusalem, that place of peace and refuge; lit by the brightness of the Son, which will be our final refuge forever. Because of the cross of Jesus Christ, your story will not end with daily trouble and temporary refuge. No, your final location will be utterly unlike anything you have ever experienced, even on your best and brightest day. You are headed for the New Jerusalem, where the final tear will be dried and trouble will be no more.
Today you will face trouble of some kind. Today you will run somewhere for refuge. Today there is hope and help to be found. May God be your refuge, and as you run to him, may you remember that he has promised you that there will be a day when you trouble is no more.
33 Comments:
Psalm 27: From Your Lips to the Messiah's Ears
Is it appropriate to shout during the corporate worship at Tenth Presbyterian and if so, why don't you make a place for it in the schedule? Maybe you already have, and I'm not understanding that?
(This is a sincere question)
thank you Paul for this post. you have taken truth i have heard very often and organized in a way that brings a fresh view. it provides this great handle -- location, location, location
God Bless you
Praise the Lord. Thank you for pointing me back to the basics of location, location, location.
I'm grateful for the example that God has given of the sufficiency of the Lord Jesus Christ through your testimony and insights. May God continue to grant you the resources to continue sharing these insights with us.
By the way, thank you for the "Your Walk With God is a Community Project" CD set from your trip to the Dallas area this week.
after reading Experiencing the Holy Spirit by John Murray, today, I was thinking about how I need to be close to Jesus to be able to receive the promised help of the Holy Spirit today - Monday was pretty tough this week. Then I read this article and it makes sense of the dissapointments I am facing.It helps me focus on my relationship to Jesus. Many thanks form Gaithersburg, MD
Just wanted to say that time and time again, your thoughts via both your books and this blog, have been used by our God of grace to encourage me. In a time of spiritual darkness and depression, I read "Whiter Than Snow" and realized the comfort of HIS grace in the midst of a relentless storm within. Thank you for using what you were gifted with and I look forward to reading more posts!
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Hello Paul,
I just wanted to say that my wife and I find your book, "Lost In The Middle and the Grace of God", to be absolutely facinating! We have probably purchased between myself, my wife, and my sister, 20 to 30 of the books. We have read through the book 5 to 6 times and have taught a 6 month Sunday school class on it, (still only able to skim some of the packed wisdom from the book). In my personal opinion, I believe the book is destined to be a Christian classic. I am an elder in a Christian & Missionary Alliance church. I have given a copy to the senior pastor, our former head elder, and have started giving the book to new members of my shepherding group. We have been greatly comforted by the wisdom and constant encouragement to embrace Christ in all circumstances that your book has provided. This book is a phenomonal aid in counseling someone, especially if they have a history with their Savior.
Anyway, I just wanted to encourage you with how God has used your God given wisdom to minister to us.
With Christ, the Best is Always Yet to Come...
Jim & Nellie Todd
Listening to you on FLT! Glad for a realistic look at marriage!
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