“The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed, and will bring me safely to His heavenly kingdom; to Him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.” 2 Timothy 4:18
This time last year, I had to take full responsibility for my father’s care. While his need for my help had been increasing over the previous five years, a bout with the flu and failing faculties required me to be more involved on a daily basis. With few exceptions, there was a daily trip to visit his assisted living apartment which is on the opposite side of town. There are two routes: one through town with traffic and traffic signals, and one through the country. With poorer road conditions, the latter can be a risky trip in bad weather. One snowy day I decided that I would still take the rural route in spite of the risks. I was rewarded with a beautiful snowy landscape. However, as I drew closer to my dad’s apartment, it became apparent that the roads were more treacherous than I originally thought. There were a few cars that had slid off of the road and were stuck in the fields with others parked along the road trying to help them out. As I passed this scene, two thoughts came to mind: that a horse a sleigh might be a safer mode of transportation for this road and that had I chosen the safe route through town, I would have missed the beauty of God’s handiwork that day.
The choice to become a Christian inherently puts us at risk. Currently in the US, it is a relatively minor risk, but a risk none the less. We as Christians are called to stand for God’s principles which are usually counter-cultural. Further, we put a target on our backs for the forces of evil, if not to eliminate us, to side line us. Whether through life events, illness or sin, those forces desire to keep us from being fruitful in our ministry for God. Finally, we are asking God to make us new, and whether or not we realize it, that is a request to be uncomfortable. Our greatest growth will come from our greatest trials. So like the choice I made in routes that day, the choice to become a Christian is riskier, but it is also more rewarding.
Phil Wickham sings the song “Safe” which talks about our safety with God. While we are safe with Him, we often confuse that with being comfortable and free of dilemmas and challenges in our lives and, therefore, see our difficulties as a lack of safety. Based on Psalm 139, Jeremiah 18, Isaiah 64:8 and similar passages, I believe very strongly that God plans the length and events of our lives before we are born…including the trials. Like the concept of our Triune God or free will and predestination, I do not have the wisdom to understand the finer points regarding the combining of God’s plans and the forces of evil to accomplish God’s will. However, I do know that God is sovereign and uses both the pleasant and unpleasant events of our lives to shape and perfect us. Regularly, there has been at least one person in the support groups that I have facilitated, that could not bear that thought and choose to leave. They couldn’t accept that God would choose difficult circumstances for us; nor could they understand how it can be for our good. Yet to miss this point is to miss so much about the nature of God, His beauty and holiness. As we are reminded in Hebrews 12, our imperfect fathers discipline us to shape and mold us into responsible adults and we respect them. How much more we should trust our Heavenly Father to do what is best for us and keep us safe.
Consider Psalm 46:1: “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” It doesn’t say that God will prevent the trouble; it says that He is our refuge and strength during the trouble. The psalm closes by reminding us that “The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our stronghold.” In between are some terrifying possibilities. Again in Psalm 134:4 “I sought the Lord, and He answered me, and delivered me from all my fears.” Our fears aren’t prevented, but we are delivered from them. Finally, the apostle Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 12:7-10: “there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me—to keep me from exalting myself! Concerning this I implored the Lord three times that it might leave me. And He has said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.’ Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.” Here Paul tells us that his goal is not to avoid trials, but rather to trust in the strength of Christ to carry him through them. Finally, the passage at the beginning shows that God cares about us so much that no matter what happens, we will be brought safely to His heavenly kingdom. Can we trust God to keep us safe? Absolutely! He is our refuge and stronghold, He delivers us from our fears, He gives us strength to stand in adversity and He brings us safely to His heavenly kingdom.
But what about…..? Yes there is illness, there are accidents, and there are difficult and, sometimes, truly awful circumstances. What about those? We must first remember that God cares more about our souls than our bodies. To date, everyone dies. In fact, even if we live till Christ’s return, the bodies we now have and the earth that we know will cease to exist. Our souls, however, move on to eternity and a new body. All of those trying experiences will do one of two things: they will drive us away from God or drive us to Him. We move away from God when we refuse to accept His plan for us, when we feel entitled to a more comfortable existence. In essence, we are rejecting His wisdom and refuse to participate in the suffering of Christ. However, when we accept God’s will for us, look to God as our fortress and stronghold, trust Him to drive out our fears and strengthen us, a whole new world opens up. First we find contentment and peace…peace that surpasses understanding. We also quit clinging to this life and look forward to eternity, trusting that God will move us from one to the other in His perfect timing; and no matter how it happens, He will be there with us and guiding us. And as we expect Him to do these things, we start looking for His intervention and begin to see Him at work in our lives. Seeing Him at work caring for us and sustaining us, we are drawn into a deeper relationship with Him. Finally when we draw close to Him, we see the beauty of His holiness, His majesty and the greatness of His love for us. When we see and understand, we are reminded that it is both a beautiful and safe relationship.
I mentioned earlier that on that snowy day, I thought a horse and sleigh might have been better than a well heated SUV moving rapidly. I still think that. It would have moved me to a slower pace. While I would not have enjoyed the cold air particularly, I would have experienced the beauty with my sense of smell and sense of touch in addition to my sight with a rhythm that would allow me to take more of it in. Put another way, I would have experienced the beauty more thoroughly. Similarly, when we allow it, our trials cause us to experience the beauty and wonder of our Lord much more completely than we would living a comfortable life that rarely challenged us to move closer to our Lord. But because we have seen His majesty and sustaining grace, join with me in praising God with Psalm 34:1-3.
“I will bless the Lord at all times;
His praise shall continually be in my mouth.
My soul will make its boast in the Lord;
The humble will hear it and rejoice.
O magnify the Lord with me,
And let us exalt His name together.