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When we were
preparing our trip to Rochester, NY for Greg’s wedding almost 4 years
ago, Diane got on the computer and obtained directions from our house to
the hotel we were staying at. Actual she got two sets of directions one
from map quest and one from yahoo. For the most part the directions were
identical except for the last ten or so miles. The directions were
different with regards to the exit we were to use to get off the
interstate. Not knowing which set of directions was correct we decided
to follow the directions that had us exiting the interstate first. Those
directions brought us into an industrial park. At that point we knew
which set of directions were wrong. Our only hope at that point was that
the other set was right.
Today’s new cars take the guessing out of which set of directions to
follow because they come with GPS, Global Positioning Systems. However a
word of caution should be said. Recently there was a news report about
British drivers taking serious risks because they trusted the
information displayed on the small screens of their in-car GPS more than
what they saw through their windshields. It seems drivers passing
through the village of Luckington found themselves landing in the river
Avon, by following a GPS-recommended route that pointed to a bridge that
had been closed for a week. Despite warning signs on both sides of the
road, and nothing but water straight ahead, local villagers found
themselves pulling an average of two cars a day out of the river. “When
you ask what happened, they said, ‘My GPS told me it was this way.”
Since this is the first Sunday in Lent, the first Sunday in our journey
to Easter I thought it would be a good idea to review our directions so
that no one gets lost on the way. Let’s start with Psalm 91:1, 2 “He who
dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the
Almighty. I will say of the Lord,
‘He is my refuge and
my fortress,
my God in whom I trust.’”
For
the psalmist, dwelling with God
“in the shelter of
the Most High”
And
“in the shadow of
the Almighty”
Is number one in
places to put our trust and make our spiritual homes. The image of God
as a “fortress” is one of security. It brings to mind for me the high
thick walls that surround the old city of Jerusalem today as they have
for thousands of years. They are symbols of strength and security — a
place of “refuge.” For the Psalmist it is a symbol of God.
Since God is a person and not a place, wherever we are, there God is and
that fortress in which we live through a relationship with God can be
anywhere we dwell. How comforting is that thought? Wherever you are God
your refuge and strength is there too. If you are looking for a home, a
place where you feel safe, we can find that place in God.
Safety and security are very high priorities today. We want to be safe.
We install locks on the windows and doors of our homes. We make our
children wear helmets when they are riding their bicycles. We have
passed laws mandating that we wear seat belts and that our children be
in car seats. (Someone needs to tell Brittany Spears) Some schools have
banned from the schoolyard the playing of dodge ball and red rover.
Safety is a priority when it comes to air travel. We may not like the
long lines we must stand in to go through security but as one passenger
said, “I would prefer being inconvenienced then blown out of the air.”
We have gone above and beyond taking steps to protect our bodies and our
country but what about our souls. The body is temporary but our souls
are eternal.
“He who dwells in
the shelter of the Most High
will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say of the Lord,
‘He is my refuge and my fortress,
my God in whom I trust.’”
Some Jews and
Christians have wrongly used Psalm 91 as a kind of GPS device, GPS
meaning God Prevents Suffering.
If you have been told faith in God prevents suffering it is an out and
out lie. Psalm 91:11, 12 “For He will command His angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands, so
that you will not strike your foot against the stone.” to tempt Jesus to
jump off the pinnacle of the temple. The same temptation is hurled at us
when we begin to believe that putting our trust in God means that we’ll
never have to suffer ourselves.
Jesus recognized that testing God and trusting God are two different
things. Jesus chose to trust God. We are faced with the same choice when
we encounter the forks in our life’s path.
The benefits we experience when we trust are clearly evident in Psalm
91. God promises to:
• Deliver us, vv. 3, 14
• Cover us, v. 4
• Remove fear, v. 5
• Punish evildoers, v. 8
• Preserve us from evil, v. 10
• Guard us, v. 11
• Protect us, v. 14
• Answer us, v. 15
• Be with us, v. 15
• Rescue us, v. 15
• Honor us, v. 15
• Satisfy us, v. 16
• Show us, v. 16
The real promise of Psalm 91 is that in the midst of the dangers and
oppositions of this world, God will not abandon his people. Faith in God
does not guarantee a life of ease, but does receive the promise that God
will “answer”
his people and “be with them in
trouble” (vv. 14-16).
This may have been what Paul had in mind when, in the midst of his own
suffering and imprisonment, he wrote
“For I am convinced
that neither death nor life,
neither angels nor demons,
neither the present nor the future,
nor any powers,
neither height nor depth,
nor anything else in all creation,
will be able to separate us from the love of God
that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
God’s love is
the ultimate security!
As begin our Lenten journey let us begin by dwelling in the shelter of
the Most High and resting in the shadow of the Almighty. Then you will
be able to say of the Lord,
“He is my refuge and
my fortress,
my God in whom I trust.”
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Amen |
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