Temi Akinsanya | PSALMS for Summer | Week 4

Psalm 16 begins with David’s plain cry: “Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge.” David does not pretend that life is easy, because creation itself is groaning under sin, pain, grief, evil, and disappointment. God stands as the one safe place in a world that can get real scary and real chaotic. The refuge of God keeps his people from being consumed by pain, drowning in hopelessness, giving up on life, or following their own worst instincts.

The question presses hard: What is the drug of choice when life starts lifing? The heart can run to alcohol, sex, busyness, more knowledge, other people’s approval, or even the distraction of constant activity. Those things may bring a moment of relief, but they cannot carry the weight of being a true refuge. God alone is refuge with no side effects, no regrets, and no limitations.

David’s confession, “I have no good apart from you,” puts every good gift in its right place. God is not saying that people, jobs, marriage, retirement, knowledge, or hobbies are bad. God is declaring that every good thing gets its goodness from him. The image of the middleman exposes the problem: why worship the middleman when the source himself is available? The approval of people can become especially dangerous when their words begin to carry more prominence than the Word of God.

David then shows how a heart grows in making God its refuge. The circle of faithful worshipers helps keep devotion aimed toward God, while the wrong circle can slowly ruin that devotion. The church is not perfect, but God uses present and consistent engagement with his people to grow sanctification and restore what sin has broken. The saints become a needed circle because they share the same desire to honor God and seek him in the chaos.

David also blesses the Lord who gives counsel. The heart can instruct a Christian only when God has already counseled, molded, and guided that heart. The voice of God trains the heart through Scripture, prayer, and the church community, so that trouble does not merely reveal panic but produces a reflex to run toward God. Christ entered the chaos of this world, died to shelter sinners from sin’s consequences, and defeated the powers of darkness. God therefore does not merely permit his people to seek refuge in him. God wants to be their shelter in the adverse weather of life.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. God is refuge, not escape. God does not deny the chaos, pain, or disappointment surrounding his people. God receives them in the middle of it and keeps them from being swallowed by hopelessness. Refuge means finding safety in the One who remains steady when life does not. [08:57]
• 2. Every good gift points beyond itself. David refuses to make good things into ultimate things. Jobs, relationships, knowledge, and encouragement are gifts, but none of them can replace the God who gives them. The middleman cannot give what only the source can provide. [13:49]
• 3. The circle shapes the heart. The saints strengthen devotion because their lives keep directing one another back toward God. The wrong circle may not always pull someone away quickly, but it can slowly weaken the desire to seek God first. The church becomes a means of grace when faithful people are actually present in one another’s lives. [19:54]
• 4. God’s counsel trains faithful instincts. The heart should not be followed blindly, because the heart needs to be shaped by God’s voice. Scripture, prayer, and Christian community teach the heart where to run when pressure comes. A heart trained to yearn for God will point toward God in the coldness of life.
  
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Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [01:05] - Religion and the Drug of Choice
• [04:05] - Where Do You Run for Help?
• [05:39] - Preserve Me, O God
• [06:40] - A World Groaning Under Sin
• [08:57] - God as the Only True Refuge
• [11:01] - Naming False Places of Refuge
• [12:59] - No Good Apart From God
• [17:19] - The Circle That Shapes Devotion
• [21:55] - The Voice That Shapes the Heart
• [26:33] - Give Me Jesus
• [29:13] - Three Steps for Finding Refuge
• [33:04] - Prayer for Those Facing Hardship

1. Keep me safe, my God, for in you I take refuge. [05:39]
2. I say to the LORD, “You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing.” [12:53]
3. I say of the holy people who are in the land, “They are the noble ones in whom is all my delight.” [17:40]
4. Those who run after other gods will suffer more and more. I will not pour out libations of blood to such gods or take up their names on my lips. [17:45]
5. LORD, you alone are my portion and my cup; you make my lot secure.
6. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance.
7. I will praise the LORD, who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me. [22:18]
8. I keep my eyes always on the LORD. With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken. [22:27]

1. We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. [06:54]
2. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. [07:13]

1. Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you.
2. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. [13:40]

1. In Psalm 16:1-2, what does David ask God to do, and what does he say about God’s place in his life? [05:42]
2. What contrast does Psalm 16:3-4 make between the “holy people” and those who run after other gods? [17:40]
3. According to Romans 8:22-23, what is groaning, and what are God’s people waiting for? [06:49]
4. In Psalm 16:7-8, what comes before David says that his heart instructs him, and what does David keep before his eyes? [22:18]

1. David calls God his refuge while living in a world marked by pain, grief, evil, and disappointment. How is taking refuge in God different from pretending that suffering is not real? [08:57]
2. Psalm 16:2 says, “Apart from you I have no good thing.” How can a believer enjoy good gifts such as work, marriage, friends, knowledge, or hobbies without turning those gifts into a replacement for God? [13:40]
3. Why might the people a Christian is most invested in shape whether that person runs toward God or toward other sources of comfort when life gets hard? [19:54]
4. Psalm 16 says that the Lord gives counsel and that the heart instructs at night. Why is it important that the heart be shaped by God’s counsel before a person follows what their heart is saying? [23:48]

1. When pressure is too much, what do you instinctively run to for relief or comfort? Is it God, or is it something like approval, busyness, alcohol, entertainment, sex, more information, or another person’s words? [11:09]
2. Think about a recent hard moment. What did your heart most want to do in that moment? What might that reveal about the refuge you are tempted to trust? [30:09]
3. Is there a good gift in your life that has started carrying more weight than it should—such as a relationship, a job, financial security, success, or people’s approval? What would it look like to receive it as a gift while remembering that God is the source? [14:03]
4. Whose voices have the greatest influence on you right now? Do those voices help you love God more and run to him more quickly, or do they slowly weaken your devotion to him? [30:31]
5. Who are the faithful people God has placed around you? What is one practical way you could be more present and engaged with them this week rather than trying to carry life’s burdens alone? [20:09]
6. What is one small, specific practice you could begin this week to train your heart to receive God’s counsel—reading Scripture, praying honestly, asking a mature Christian for help, or gathering with God’s people? [24:37]
7. Jesus entered this broken world and died to shelter sinners from the consequences of sin. In the area of life that feels most chaotic right now, what would it sound like to pray David’s simple prayer: “Keep me safe, my God, for in you I take refuge”? [29:01]