Now That's Security!
Psalm 121:1-8 NIV
I lift up my eyes to the hills- where does my help come from?
My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.
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He will not let your foot slip- he who watches over you will not slumber;
indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.
The LORD watches over you- the LORD is your shade at your right hand;
the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night.
The LORD will keep you from all harm- he will watch over your life;
the LORD will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.
What makes you feel secure? A good job? In today's world, try to name one person who has a secure job. I'm not talking about the Kennedys or the Rockefellers or Oprah. I'm talking about "just folks," like you and me. Outside of the rarified air of the ultra rich, you'd be hard pressed to find someone whose job is totally secure. Companies downsize. Companies go bankrupt. People get fired or laid off.
So what else makes you feel secure? A healthy bank account, with savings and investments on the side? Banks fail. Companies in which we've invested can fail (remember Black Monday not too many years ago? Or the Great Depression?). A catastrophic illness without adequate insurance can decimate a savings account in no time. And the sudden disability or loss of the primary bread-winner can leave a family destitute.
Let's see now... some people might feel secure in a good marriage relationship. But what if something happens to the other person - a fatal illness or accident can take that person away in a heartbeat. And thousands of supposedly "good" marriages have ended up in the divorce courts. There's always your health... but even the healthiest person is not beyond the reach of illness or accident that might leave a person disabled for life. How about having a house full of family heirlooms... beautiful things that have been passed down through the generations, things that are very special to you and which are irreplaceable? A fire or, perhaps, a hurricane, and... well, ask the folks in Mississippi and Louisiana and Texas felt after Katrina and Rita got through with them, or the hundreds of thousands in the countries that got slammed by the tsunami, or the folks in California, where thousands of acres - and many homes and businesses - are going up in flames, or the folks in Seattle back when they had a month of rain, or the folks in London and Iraq and many other places after the suicide bombings.
Each of the things that seem like they should afford us some measure of security represents an absence of danger. But none of them is without risk, so they represent a false security.
Well, now, we've eliminated your job, your money, your health, your relationships, your possessions. What's left? How about the presence of God in your life? How about the fact that our Lord told us that He is with us always, no matter what happens?
Wouldn't you rather base your security on knowing that you are being held close by the one who is more powerful than all the forces in the universe put together? Don't you feel secure, knowing that no matter what happens, you can call on the love and grace and power of God Almighty to keep you safe within His pasture? Aren't you more secure knowing that, instead of having to depend upon the uncertainty of the things of this world, you can call upon the Maker of this world?
I lift up my eyes to the hills - where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.
