Getting away from it all (Amos 4-6; Psalm 55; Matt 14)

Do you ever wish you could just get away from it all? From all the pressure, all the burdens, all the pain.

David felt this, listen to his words in Psalm 55: “Oh, that I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and be at rest; yes, I would wander far away…”

David longed to get away from all the pressure, perhaps it was the pain of persecution that he suffered, the pain of rejection. He was the anointed king, but Saul and others wanted him dead. He longed to escape from the pressure, from the anguish of heart, from the fear and trembling, from the horrors. He wants to escape.

We learn more about his trouble in v13, it’s the pain of betrayal. Someone close to him, someone he thought he could trust, has turned against him.

He longs to escape, but his confidence is in God. He trusts that God will deliver him from the smooth talking enemy. The enemy who had turned others against him with his smooth soft words (v21). Yet David remains confident in the Lord, “cast your burden on the LORD, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved.” (Psalm 55:22)

But who is righteous? Not even David. Our security is found in the great descendant of David, our King Jesus – the only righteous one. He no doubt wanted to escape from the pressure of Jerusalem, of people constantly trying to trap him. To get away from the religious hypocrisy. He longed to go to be with His Father and yet He remained for our sake. Facing even the pain of betrayal as one of his companions turned against him and all the rest abandoned him. He faced the pit of destruction for us so that we can be counted righteous and have total security. He invites us to come to him and find rest.

We will have times where we want to escape, tough situations we long to be free from. We know that for those who belong to Jesus, there is a resurrection to look forward to when we will finally be at home with the Lord. Until that day we can cast our burdens on the LORD and know that He will sustain us.

Why not take a moment not to do just that.