Intro
We will start this week with a video:
Scripture and Commentary
All this week, as I have listened to the news, I have been confronted over and over with the question “how big is my God?”. Or maybe this is better phrased, “How big will I believe God to be?” How much help does God require from us, in order to ensure our safety? As always, let’s look to some Scripture:
Psalm 124:
1 If the Lord had not been on our side—
let Israel say—
2 if the Lord had not been on our side
when people attacked us,
3 they would have swallowed us alive
when their anger flared against us;
4 the flood would have engulfed us,
the torrent would have swept over us,
5 the raging waters
would have swept us away.
6 Praise be to the Lord,
who has not let us be torn by their teeth.
7 We have escaped like a bird
from the fowler’s snare;
the snare has been broken,
and we have escaped.
8 Our help is in the name of the Lord,
the Maker of heaven and earth.
2 Thessalonians 3:1-3
3 As for other matters, brothers and sisters, pray for us that the message of the Lord may spread rapidly and be honored, just as it was with you. 2 And pray that we may be delivered from wicked and evil people, for not everyone has faith. 3 But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen you and protect you from the evil one.
2 Samuel 22:3
my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge,
my shield and the horn of my salvation.
He is my stronghold, my refuge and my savior—
from violent people you save me.
2 Peter 2:4-9:
4 For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell, putting them in chains of darkness to be held for judgment; 5 if he did not spare the ancient world when he brought the flood on its ungodly people, but protected Noah, a preacher of righteousness, and seven others; 6 if he condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah by burning them to ashes, and made them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly; 7 and if he rescued Lot, a righteous man, who was distressed by the depraved conduct of the lawless 8 (for that righteous man, living among them day after day, was tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard)— 9 if this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials and to hold the unrighteous for punishment on the day of judgment.
Conclusion
All week I have pondered similar questions. Do we need physical walls on our borders to keep us safe? Do we need to implement travel bans, to help God out in his care-taking and protecting duties? As I think and pray over these matters I cannot escape the reality that building a safe, familiar, Christian bubble in which to live is not consistent with the example of Jesus or the apostles. Nor can I disregard the simple fact that many of the people we wish to trap “over there” live in places where they are far less likely to ever hear the Gospel of Christ. No one wants a terrorist next door, but after much prayer I would rather that- and then trust in God’s protection- than have to explain why it was important for me to have a man-made sense of physical safety at the cost of others being exposed to the Truth of the Lord. I choose to believe my God is big enough.
I look forward to hearing your thoughts, please share.
Be blessed.
K
Our Eyes On Him 