Good morning,
This
week, those of us living in America got to join so many other countries
in the world who have been profoundly impacted by the dangers of highly
motivated religious individuals. From a historic point of view, there
is nothing new in this set of circumstances. The Bible as a history
book tells the story of nations that have been destroyed by powerful
political leaders and religious movements that were allowed by God to
punish people who were in open rebellion to the God of Creation. The
wonderful part of knowing the Bible stories is that there have always
been people who have loved God and were willing to trust him in the face
of all the hate and anger that comes pouring out of people who are
wicked to the core. The Psalmist knew what he was writing about when he
pointed out that “Those who live in the shelter of the Most High will
find rest in the shadow of the Almighty.” Our enemy Satan has never
been allowed to run God’s world the way he wants to.
God’s kids
are always living in the awesome shadow of the Lord God Almighty. Even
though we may feel like we are all alone in this overwhelming battle
against the powers of evil, we are never out of the presence of a loving
Father who takes orders from no one. We really are in the place of
safety that he arranges for us even when the danger we see seems likely
to be the end of us. Our Father is the God of time and eternity. Our
protector is always able to be everywhere at once. Our refuge is always
designed with God’s master plan for our lives in mind. Our Good
Shepherd will always lead us with the idea of keeping us here until our
work here is done. No matter what anyone says, our God is perfectly
trustworthy. No amount of wickedness will ever keep our God from
carrying out his plan for his family and his enemies. That’s another
thing the Psalmist reminds us of. He wrote, “Just open your eyes, and
see how the wicked are punished.” There may be clouds of smoke and
deadly explosions all around us, but what God also has in mind is making
sure that the wicked people around us are properly punished for their
hate and rebellion. It really is a terrifying thing to fall into the
hands of an angry God. Dear Lord, please help us to rest securely in
your awesome shadow.
Psalm 91:1 Those who live in the
shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
2 This I declare about the LORD: He alone is my refuge, my place of
safety; he is my God, and I trust him.
8 Just open your eyes, and see how the wicked are punished.
Roy Wisner
