Escape: Psalm 59:9, 17

Photo by Jose G. Ortega Castro on Unsplash

Have you ever had a dream where you were being chased? There’s that sense of dire straits, of peril and intensity because "they" are out to get you, and they are coming fast! Thank God, that's just a dream. Imagine being on the run for your life!

Psalm 59 starts with an inscription: A psalm of David, "when Saul sent men to watch his house in order to kill him" (ESV).

Ok, that's intense. "To kill him"! It's time for an escape. And in fact, the chapter that this psalm goes with, 1 Samuel 19, contains four escapes in a row! So as David is spending his time escaping, what is he reflecting on? That would be in Psalm 59: "O my Strength, I will watch for you, for you, O God, are my fortress" (9). And later: "O my Strength, I will sing praises to you, for you, O God, are my fortress" (17).

You and I may not have a hit squad sent to watch our homes to kill us, but we do face some intensity from time to time: that moment in the past that dogs our steps, that temptation, that addiction we keep tripping on, that sin that we hate that we love, that memory that brings sorrow, or that relationship that brings grief. So we do have things chasing us after all. Not a hit squad, but (as someone said somewhere): sins, weaknesses, and wounds.

And when we are chased by these sins, weaknesses, and wounds, we are looking for escapes. Where do you look for escape? Like in that insurance commercial with the teens facing the chain-saw killer, we don't go to the running car every time. No, sometimes we escape to the dead-end basement or the tool shed where all the sharp implements hang over our heads. We make it too easy for the one chasing us. We run to the addiction to escape, the screens, the news, the fridge, the substances. We run to the complaining or scolding or punching down. We run to the gossip. Makes us feel better. Makes us forget...for a minute.

But, if we would go to God through Jesus Christ, then we have the running car, God himself, our fortress. "O my Strength, I will watch for you/sing praises to you, for you, O God, are my fortress." We need to realize that things are chasing us so that we realize that we are running. And if we can recognize that, then we can run to God, our fortress, our strength.

If you have things chasing you, maybe some counseling is in order. Maybe a check-in with your pastor who can help or point you to those best qualified to help. Maybe you can open up to a quality friend. If any of them can help point you to God, who is your only real Strength, you can ask him to give you true escape from the pursuers and a direction of healing for the next chapter of your life.