Where can we find Safety?
Dateline: Jerusalem, Israel. February 14, 2018.
Less than two weeks ago, my plane lifted off the tarmac around midnight in New York City and landed some ten hours later in Tel Aviv, Israel. This is my second journey to The Land, and from the moment my foot lights, God's words to Moses ring out in my mind, 'Take off your sandals, for the place you are standing is holy ground.'1 Truly.
Yet before I left, I had so many ask, 'Is it safe to go to Israel? Aren't you afraid?' Many friends assured me they would be praying for my safety whilst there. Translation: from the Western media there is an impression of the potential for bombs blowing up on every other corner! [CertainlyNotNews should not be our main stream of information for domestic situations or international ones, Friends.] However, it is a fact that Israel is a small country-just 250 miles in length and no more than 50 miles wide at any point-and she is surrounded by four nations bent on her annihilation.
<Young soldiers at the northern most outpost, guarding against Hezbollah attacks coming from her very near border with Lebanon.
And two more stationed at the security wall
between the West Bank (Bethlehem) and
Jerusalem.
And in the Old City,
an ever-present watch:
Their presence did two things: let me know I should be concerned, and also maybe less concerned because they were on the job. Hmmm.
The day after I returned to the USA, a crazed teen-ager murdered 17 innocent people at his former school in Florida. Now where was I safe? Or maybe, nowhere was I safe.
What is the source of safety anyway? The source of safety is not a place, military might or police protection, but is rather a person. Not Prime Minister Netanyahu and not President Trump, but Jesus Christ. 'But, but,' you say, 'how can Jesus protect my person?!' Fact is, there is no real way to guarantee protection of our person-from a car or plane crash, a freak natural disaster or some unexplained illness.
But you, my friend, are more than a body ... you are spirit and soul as well-an eternal being. Jesus said it so clearly, even to those who might be in danger from evil--
"Don't be afraid of those who want to kill your body; they cannot touch your soul..."2
"Even to your old age and gray hairs I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you."3
"The name of the Lord is a strong tower; The righteous run to it and are safe."4
I love how simply and boldly the psalmist expressed this truth:
"God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble."5
For years now, if I have had thoughts for my safety or the safety of my children, I have cloaked myself in Psalm 91. https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%2091&interface=print
A single verse from the beloved psalm:
He [God] will cover you with his feathers; you will take refuge under his wings. His faithfulness will be a protective shield.
God is faithful. And because he is, Child of God ... you can trust your safety to him.
1 - Exodus 3.5
2 - Matthew 10.28a
3 - Isaiah 46.4
4 - Proverbs 18.10
5 - Psalm 46.1
6 - Psalm 91.4
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