Safety Provided By God Alone

Good Wednesday morning! One of the first things I heard this morning was the memory verses on MyBridge radio. I kind of like to pass this one along to you.

"You have filled my heart with greater joy than when their grain and new wine abound. I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety." (Psalms 4:7-8)

We can all understand the happiness of having a bountiful harvest. For us the verse might speak to a day when bonus checks are handed out at a company. More than just a payday, a bonus day makes the heart glad for just a bit before the surplus is gone. Most of us have experienced this kind of brief happiness. The psalmist speaks of having greater joy than that. Then, with that great joy in hand, the psalmist lays down to sleep in peace. We have a desire for that joy as well. Think about all the commercial ads you have seen in magazines and on the telly for products to help us get to sleep and stay asleep. Sleep is a wonderful thing and we earnestly desire it. But along with all those sleep aids, we also desire to sleep in safety.

One of the most frightening tales over the years has been the late night knock on the door, the sudden assault of a dictator's secret police, or the flood waters coming at night. Actually that's more than one tale. We don't like to be suddenly awakened when we expect to be in a comfortable bed asleep until the morning light. Some folks lock their doors with extra locks, some sleep with firearms nearby, others seek safety in numbers or alarms or police presence or other things that I haven't thought of this morning. In this world it is so easy to look in the wrong direction for a sense of safety. Our verses remind us that only God provides safety.

Stop to ponder that last bit for a moment - only God provides safety. As you think about laying aside some props that might have accumulated over the years to bolster your sense of safety, what happens? Right, the 'what if's' start up in that worldly-trained mind we have. Hee, hee, my mind is doing it too! Such a case for letting go and giving my safety into God's hands I have seldom seen. Pray that all of us will learn to trust in the Lord.

Bucky