Arthur Jackson- Hurricane Dorian—with winds of up to 185 miles per hour—pounded the Bahamas in the Caribbean and left the tropical haven in shambles. It continued to wreak havoc as it traveled up the eastern coast of the United States.(Google image, Hurricane Dorian)
A hurricane chaser—one familiar with storm patterns, wind velocity and other storm features—found shelter in a "solid concrete school." He reported that "winds pounded the building with the force of a thousand sledgehammers."
In spite of what was happening on the outside, he found safety on the inside because that kind of building is trustworthy in the midst of the storm.
A number of biblical metaphors point us to the reliability, the trustworthiness, of God Almighty as our safe place. In Psalm 18 we find several of these word pictures:
"The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold" (v. 2).
The writer unleashes this array of words to convey the truth that the Lord can be trusted in times of peril and danger.
Safe places. Who among us doesn't long for safety as we find ourselves traversing the rough terrain in life? Ill health and physical discomfort; relational stress and alienation, financial tensions that seem to have no end—and the list goes on. Life happens and people of faith find help and strength in the knowledge that "the eternal God is [our] refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms" Deuteronomy 33:27).
While it's comforting to know that the God of heaven is Lord over the storm and in the middle of the storm and that "[He] is our refuge and strength, and ever-present help in trouble" (Psalm 46:1)—it's even better to know that His "ever-presentness" is a reality apart from trouble. To put it another way, God is not a cosmic "superhero" who shows up when life's villians make their occasional, unwelcomed appearance in our lives. No, the all-sufficient, almighty God is trustworthy at all times and in all situations!
Why is it that we are so inclined to think of "needing the Lord' just in the midst of dark, stormy days as if He can take a rest when things are well? Many days days are rather uneventful. If we're not careful, we can be lulled into thinkings, "I've got this!"
How easy it is for us, in the uneventful times of life, to blithely and blindly cruise through life without considering our need to trust the Lord at all times. The beloved hymn "I Need Thee Every Hour" reminds us of our constant need for the Lord. "I need Thee every hour, in joy or in pain; come quickly and abide or life is vain." We can trust the Lord at all times.
Confident trust in the Lord at all times in all situations is timelessly conveyed in the most treasured of all the psalms, Psalm 23. Nine simple words form a sentence that has reverberated through the centuries: "The Lord is my shepherd' I shall not want" (v. 1 KJV). This declaration of confidence is followed by words that convey God's active presence at all times in all places. The terrain doesn't matter—green pastures, still waters, dark valleys, enemy territory, and on into eternity.
Calm reliance on God can be in play at all times—at all ages and stages of life. In fair weather there is no desperation, but our need to trust God is no less. Whether there's green grass under our feet or a rocky road that leads to the valey of the shadow of death—we can trust Him.
Your present stage may be the instability or uncertainty of y outh or the rocky transition to adulthood. Marriage or separation or divorce may be strin gyou in the face. You may be facing relocation—Leaving home to enter a senior-living facility.
Are you welcoming new life into your home through childbirth or adoption? Or stepping into a new home or new career or a new opportunity for service/ Trust Him! You may not need God as a storm shelter right now, but you certainly nee Him as you navigate your new normal and even your ordinary days.
Life's scenery is guaranteed to change; life's Shepherd doesn't. May you sense His presence afresh and find him trustworthy at all times.
Arthur Jackson, Our Daily Bread author
Loving Father, please change me from the inside out and anchor me in faith rooted deep in the unchanging scriptures." [Our Daily Bread 6/25/2020]
376-380 one-line KJV Scriptures for those of you who want to learn some more verses this week- or to review them from when they were first posted-
376- Ps. 94:12 "Blessed is the man whom thou chastenest, O LORD, and teachest him out of thy law."
377- Ps. 34:1 "I will bless the lORD at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth."
378- Ps. 21:13 "Be thou exalted, LORD, in thine own strength; so we will sing and praise thy power."
379- Ps. 19:7 "The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple."
380-Ps. 33:21 "For our heart shall rejoice in him, because we have trusted in his holy name."
Today's guest post-
Smelling Good
"The smell took me back.
Until my wife came along, I used bar soap. She was a liquid soap user. Liquid soaps were not mass-produced for domestic use until the 1980s when Minnetonka Corporation of Minnesota released its Softsoap.
One day, while visiting a local grocery store, I walked to the pharmacy department. Sure enough, they sat on the shelf as I remembered . . . "
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