Security

Security is very much something that we can feel.  We are calmer when we sense it, and less when we don’t. And of course, we have emotions, behaviors, and actions which are triggered by if we feel secure or not.  What is interesting is that “how we feel” about our security may or may not be anything like the truth.  This is the case physically, relationally and spiritually.

Some time ago I was traveling on the interstate through Chicago in my maroon Buick Century...in the rain. My wife and two children were settled in for the drive to Michigan. The car beautifully handled all kinds of weather, so I was very confident that we would be fine through the night. Right out of the blue, I heard a voice in my head say “turn left.” I was on a freeway so I didn’t understand it at first. But the voice repeated, “turn left.” As we entered the familiar sight of construction and the road split, I followed the advice I had heard. I kept to the left.  As we passed the lane division, I looked to the right quickly and saw that a car was stalled on the freeway. It was stopped in the right lane.  Had I not kept to the left, I would have hit that car at about 50 miles/hr.

Over the years, I have mused over this incident often and can now see several levels of “security” in play. As you can tell, I sensed no danger at all while driving. I felt perfectly secure. And I would have been, except for the completely unexpected occurrence of a stalled car, in the dark and in the rain. My own past experience driving on the interstate had fooled me into a false sense of security—even though I was actually in grave danger. My so-called “feelings of security” were invalid.

But on another level, the voice, which I later came to understand was God’s voice, kept me perfectly safe. The thought of what might have been, except for God, gives me pause even to this day. But here we see the truth. In God, we were perfectly safe, but only because of Him. I was safe only because He spoke into the present, into my own desperate need. This is God’s nature. This is the way that God can work to save us physically, emotionally and spiritually in the moment. (Note: I recognize that God may work differently than what I shared here. Suffering is often present. But God will work both in rescues and suffering to build His kingdom in us).

David gives an excellent illustration of his security in Psalm 3:

“Oh LORD, how many are my foes!  Many rise up against me; many are saying of my soul, there is no salvation for him in God.

But you, O LORD are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head.

I cried to the LORD, and he answered me from his holy hill.

I lay down and slept; I woke again, for the LORD sustained me.

I will not be afraid of the thousands of people who have set themselves against me all around.

Arise, O LORD!  Save me of God!

For you strike all my enemies on the cheek; you break the teeth of the wicked.

Salvation belongs to the LORD; your blessing be on your people!”

What I so appreciate about this Psalm is that while David is completely surrounded by his enemies, he can lie down and sleep knowing that he is firmly protected by the LORD who does not sleep. He is safe.  Because of this, he can just drift off and soundly sleep. He has completely given over all his worries, his fears, and his anxieties to God. He knows himself to be completely secure in God’s hands. He will be saved by God himself, much as my family and I were saved that night on the freeway.

Friends, we are firmly secure in God. We can know this, and we can experience God’s security.  We can train our heart to embrace the truth that we are in God’s hands (John 10:28-29), and He will not let us go.