1 Have mercy on me, my God, have mercy on me,
for in you I take refuge.
I will take refuge in the shadow of your wings
until the disaster has passed. Psalm 57:1

When David wrote this he was in a cave. Four hundred of his men were with him, so it would have been well-guarded and fortified. Lookouts would have been strategically located. Still, King David knew he was a wanted man. It was only a matter of time before his enemies caught up with him.

We know that David wrote these words to the tune of “Do Not Destroy.” Presumably David would have sung the words while in the cave. Can you just imagine how his men were encouraged that David, their king, was taking the Lord seriously? He could have spent the majority of his time fretting and strategizing over what he should do next. Instead, he wrote songs to the Lord, songs that we now enjoy in these psalms. While we don’t sing these psalms for the most part, we can certainly appreciate their beauty and substance.

So, is there something you should be doing but you’re not? Maybe it’s writing songs, playing more with your kids or grandkids, learning a new skill, learning a new language, writing a story or novel, or calling a few friends.

I think the bottom line question is ‘are you doing things that are totally unproductive and complete time-wasters?’

I am reminded of Admiral Rickover’s two questions to his new officers as they came aboard his subs: “Do you put 100% effort into everything you do?” The second question was always, “why not?”

Just a thought.