Contemplative Bible Reading

Psalm 61:2-3 (New Living Translation)

2 From the ends of the earth,
I cry to you for help
when my heart is overwhelmed.
Lead me to the towering rock of safety,
3 for you are my safe refuge,
a fortress where my enemies cannot reach me.

Many years ago, I would travel to far places. I would tell people, “It wasn’t the ‘last place on earth,’ but you could see the last place on earth from where I was.” I was at “the ends of the earth” mentioned in verse 2.

It was common that once or twice each month I would eat something that just wasn’t right. I would have twenty four hours of pain and misery until my body rid itself of the the bad stuff.

Pray. Yes, I would pray in moments of pain. At the ends of the earth, God was with me. I would pray. God would give me comfort of one type or another. God was my safe refuge.

Enough war stories from an old man whose memory is colored with too much nostalgia.

Pain? Yes, people all around me are in pain. Someone said something. Someone gave “a dirty look.” Someone ignored. Pain? Yes, insufferable pain brought on by daily enemies.

God is a fortress where my enemies cannot reach me.

Let us all take refuge in that fortress. Let us never forget that the fortress is there always.