Today, it has been over two weeks since we saw the historic flooding in South Texas that caused so much destruction, pain, and loss of life. And horrific events like this can cause you to become more aware of how inescapable pain and suffering is. I can think of a pastor-friend of mine who was just diagnosed with stage-four cancer along his spine. I also think of many of the stories of how people at Citylight have experienced miscarriages, family loss, and even the devastation of losing relationships that were meaningful to them. Maybe you are feeling that tension this morning. Because the Bible teaches us that we live in world broken by sin, so the question is not if, but when you experience the setbacks, disappointment, and sadness of this broken world, what do you do? Well, one way we try to deal with our suffering is through ignoring it. Recently, I had a friend who took a 2nd job so he wouldn’t have to think about a hard family loss but said no matter how busy he was, it didn’t deal with the pain. But also, we can try to make pain our identity; it becomes the only thing people know about you or it’s the only thing you think about it. Well, the answer Psalm 31 offers to all sufferers is this: lament. that has helped Pastor Mark, people in our church, and Christians is this: lament. A lament is: “A prayer in pain that leads to rejoicing in God.” And as King David cries out to God in lament, he invites all of us to do the same in our suffering!
Now, what is unique about our Psalm this morning is that it doesn’t just show us how to lament, but why. Look at vs.3-4, “For you are my rock and my fortress; and for your name’s sake you lead me and guide me; you take me out of the net they have hidden for me for you are my refuge.” That word refuge was typically used to describe a place of safety or security from danger. Citylight, we lament in our pain and suffering because we are praying to a God who is a true refuge/security for those who are deep suffering; who’s lives are falling apart. And if you ignore the why of lament, you will never have the motivation, strength, encouragement to avoid ignoring or identifying with your pain. And enjoying the good gift of finding refuge in God through lament. So, our big idea this morning is: In your pain and suffering, run to God for refuge. And our text will show us 3 general reasons why God is a refuge; why we can lament. We run to God for refuge because:
God is the ultimate refuge
God wants to help
God loves his people

First, God is the ultimate refuge. In these opening verses we see David being his lament by crying out to God and telling him that he needs refuge from being put to shame; and since he is in danger, he needs deliverance. You see, in the OT, these phrases were used to describe the fear of complete destruction and the shame that would come if God’s promises didn’t come true. Basically, whatever the situation was, David felt as if his life was falling apart, that this was the end, and he desperately needed God’s help. And honestly, how many of us have felt this way this way before? How many have you so devastated after the doctor’s diagnosis, sonogram, or negative pregnancy test, you wonder if God cares? How many have felt that your marriage or family is so broken that it is beyond saving and this is it. Or how many of you have felt so hurt by people you trusted, you don’t know how you will ever be able to trust again? Because we live in a broken by sin, the question is not whether we will feel this way, it is when we feel this way what will we do? And our lament text teaches us that when we feel our lives falling apart, we must run to God for refuge by bringing our fears to him; crying out to him!
And do you notice in vs 3-5, as David cries out to God, he doesn’t spend time saying how big his problem is but reminding himself how amazing of a refuge God is. When I was in high school and was playing sports, and the other team would trash talk us/say that they were better; my coach would always say, “Don’t say anything; the score/statistics will show who is the better team.” Just look at the divine refuge-stats that David gives about God. He is a rock and fortress; protection from attack. He leads and guides David’s life, not because of David but because of his name/greatness. He saves David from traps that are set for him by others. But the text points us to one more refuge-stat. In the NT, when Jesus is on the cross, he quotes vs. 5, “In your hand I commit my spirit.” On the Cross, as Jesus is absorbing the wrath we deserved for our rejection and loving of everything else than God, Jesus cries out to God and trusts him as his refuge; and we see that 3 days later he isn’t left for dead but rises from the dead! So that redeemed sinners can run to God and know the only refuge that not even death cannot beat!
But look at vs. 6, where David says that he hates a people/culture that pay regard or trust in worthless idols or anything that we give our love and devotion to over God. You see, we need to be constantly reminded that God is the ultimate refuge because we constantly run to everything/idols that can’t give us refuge for refuge! And if you want to know what you tend to run to when your life is falling apart, just ask yourself: When I feel like this is the end, what do I think will make everything work out in the end? For me, I tend to think that the affirmation of others, if people like me and if they tell me its going to be okay, then I will feel safe. But the reason why idols are useless is because it only takes one natural disaster, pandemic, break up, reasons to prove to you that idols can’t truly give you peace, safety or security. Citylight, if you run to anything other than God for refuge, you are running to worthless idols; you are settling!
Implication: And knowing that through Jesus, we have access to the ultimate refuge, take the first step to running to God for refuge by crying out to him in lament. Basically, take all your fears, frustrations, and pain and cry upward in prayer. You see, that is the difference between lament and sinful venting. In venting we just complain to the people next to us about how bad we have it or how frustrated we are. But in lament, we run to God in prayer and we say, “My life is falling apart, I need refuge, and you are the only one who can be that!” And that might simply look like admitting that running to your job/relationships/yourself and rehearsing your anger and complaining to others doesn’t help. And commit to running to the only refuge that death couldn’t conquer. Make a commitment to not settle for lesser refuges! Run to God for refuge because he is the ultimate refuge.

Next, run to God for refuge because he wants to help you. In this next section of David’s lament we see him run to God for refuge by giving prayer requests to God. And as he tells God how he feels and how he wants him to intervene, he is basically telling God that unless he intervenes, David has no hope. Now, typically when we go through deep times of suffering, asking God for help can almost feel impossible. Mainly because it feels almost pointless to ask God for anything because we wonder where he is or if he even cares. But Mark Vroegop, in his book on lament, says that silence before God in a time of suffering is a “deadly silence.” Because when we don’t take our requests to God, we experience 1 of 2 pains:
Despair: Feeling like all hope is lost. In a sense, it feels like the end of the world.
Denial: It could feel like “everything is okay.” In fact, I have figured it out and have it all under control; when in actuality, you don’t have it in control and you continue to feel everything we mentioned earlier.
In our times of suffering, one of the worse things we can do is keep silent before God!
But the fact that we see David bringing big, bold, believing prayer requests to God means that God wants us to bring our requests to him; he wants to help. Look at what David asks for. First, he asks God for comfort. In vs. 9-13, David ask God to be gracious to him because he is: soul and body are wasted from grief, is physically/emotionally exhausted, he feels the weight of his own iniquity/sin, has been abandoned by everyone, and his life is in danger. Basically, he is saying, “God, I have completely hit rock bottom; I need you to comfort me because or else I’ll sit in despair.” And the comfort that this Psalm ultimately points us to is Jesus who referenced this Psalm on the Cross. Heb. 4:15-16 tells us, “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” Family, you can ask God for comfort because your savior knows exactly what you are going through and yet never sinned; is able give you the perfect comfort to deal with your sin and bring redemption into your life because it is not based on your or your circumstances but him.
But in vs. 14-18, David doesn’t just ask for comfort but also asks for justice. He asks that God to rescue him by putting to shame the wicked, lying lips, and those who speak against God’s people. Basically he is saying, “God, would you bring justice on the evil that I see in this world.” The Bible tells us that no evil or injustice escapes the eyes of God. That he cares about evil and injustice, and we can cry out to him and ask him to deal with it since he is a God is perfectly holy, justice, and good. Eccl. 3:17 says, “I said in my heart, God will judge the righteous and the wicked, for there is a time for every matter and for every work.” And the assurance we have that evil will not win is the cross, where we see Jesus not only dethrone sin and evil, but he announces that their day is coming! That one day, all evil, sin, death, injustice will be dealt with by our savior who conquered it all. So, throughout our lives we can cry out to him knowing that he cares and will deal with it!
Implication: So let me ask you all this: “What request to do you need to bring before God?” Comfort? Justice? When I ask people this at Citylight, many times they say, “I don’t know.” My encouragement is to share that with your church family. We can process together, pray together; and encourage each other to go to our loving father! About two weeks ago, during the flooding in Central Texas, we preached on Ps. 29 and one of our attenders reached out saying, “I don’t know how to understand God being over the flood waters and this tragedy.” When she didn’t know what to ask God for in lament, we were able to process and lament together; ask God for comfort, divine intervention for those families, and even peace when we didn’t understand how this could happen. This is the blessing of the church! So, reach out to your CG leader or pastors to process what you want to ask God in lament. You can even go to the prayer team in the back and ask them to pray for you today. Citylight, God run to God for refuge because he wants to help you!

And as the passage ends, we run to God because he loves his people. To finish the Psalm, David practices the final step of lament by trust in in God. Specifically, he expresses his trust by remembering how God has expressed his goodness and love to his people. You go through the OT, you see that he loved his OT people Israel by: choosing them, freeing them from slavery, giving them his law/word, and even making a way to deal with their sin so he could have a relationship with them. In vs. 22, David mentions how God has always showed his loved when he felt in danger and doubted. But as God’s people today, I want us to put into practice this Psalm by remembering the most powerful expression of God’s love and goodness to us: gospel. You see, by nature and choice we have all rejected and loved everything else over God and are placed under his judgement, in his love, he sent this Son Jesus, to live the life we could never live, absorb the wrath of God on the cross, and resurrect so that undeserving sinners could run to God for refuge and be given promises like what we see in Rom. 5:3-5, “Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.! ” Family, we have seen God’s love in the fact that he provided a way for us to run to him and know that our suffering isn’t random or in vain; that God can use it to make us look more like Jesus!
But lets put this all into prospective. Vs. 23 says that God preserves the faithful but repays/judges the those who are prideful. You see, if you would say you are cool with Jesus, but he isn’t on the throne of your life and haven’t looked to him to be your refuge from your biggest problem: that your sin has separated you from God and placed you under judgment; then you truly haven’t found refuge in God. It is as if you have spent your life looking for protection from a tornado in a house with no roof or basement. When it comes to Jesus, he is either your refuge or your are looking to something else for it. What allows you to experience the power and hope of this lament is to admit that you are in desperate need of refuge; that not only are the issues of this life devastating but that you can’t escape the brokenness and slavery of how you have failed God/sin. So, if that is you, my encouragement is for you to run to God for refuge for the first time by lamenting to him about your sin. Cry out to him about how you have failed him, ask him to forgive you and help you follow him, and believe that his loved on the cross is powerful enough to save you! Please reach out to your pastors or receive prayer today if that is you!
Implication: If you have been following Jesus for awhile, look at vs. 24, “Be strong and take courage.” The Psalm encourages you to hold on and trust that as you run to God for refuge, his steadfast love doesn’t have an expiration date. That his love that saved you through the cross and that has strengthen you in the past, will continue to sustain you even now. I love how Bible scholar Allen ross talks about, “We should not give up, but keep on praying. From the example of the fulfillment of the psalm with Jesus Christ, we learn that the answer to our prayer may come at a different time and in a different way than we pray, and if so at a better time and in a better way, and if not in this life, then surely in the life to come.” So my encouragement to all of us is to lament to God this week. Write it out in a journal, pray it with others, or even go to the prayer team this morning and go before your father and lament. Turn, ask, and trust that your father’s steadfast love that was shown at the Cross still applies today. Run to him for refuge this week as you lament because you know God loves his people!
Conclusion:
So, Citylight, maybe your life is falling apart right now. Maybe you are so filled with grief, confusion, pain, and frustration you don’t know what to do. Vs. 19 tells us: “Oh, how abundant is your goodness, which you have stored up for those who fear you and worked for those who take refuge in you…” Don’t settle for fake refuges; run to God for refuge.