Saturday, November 7 2020 Devotional
"The Lord is the strength of His people; He is the saving refuge of His anointed.
Oh, save Your people and bless Your heritage! Be their Shepherd and carry them forever."
Psalm 28:8-9
I remember my first day of kindergarten. My Mom brought me to this strange place full of strange kids playing with strange toys and a couple of strange women, and it suddenly dawned on me that the plan was to leave me there all alone! I knew it was supposed to be a temporary thing; I had heard them say something about five hours, and that either Mom or Dad would come back and get me. But I wasn’t having any of that. It didn’t feel safe to me.
When we’re children, there’s a safe place to which we can run, in the arms of our parents. There’s such a sense of protection and security there. We might not understand it rationally but the feeling of being safe there, in those arms, sweeps away all fear and uncertainty. We just know that nothing harmful can touch us when we’re there.
Then we grow up, and we are launched like a ship, out into the cold, vast world. We’re ready for it. We’ve been prepared for it, and we’re usually chomping at the bit to have that freedom of being adults on our own. But we always remember the feeling of safety we had as children, that safe place, surrounded by our parents’ arms, where no harm could come to us.
There’s another safe place that we never grow out of: safe in the arms of Jesus. In Psalm 27:10 King David wrote, "When my father and mother forsake me, then the Lord will take me up." Here in Psalm 28 he adds the words with which we started: "The Lord is the saving refuge of His anointed.” Jesus is our safe place in life, and even in death.
A few years ago I released my father into the arms of Jesus. Yesterday a dear friend suddenly found himself there after a terrible accident. My granddaughter and my two sisters are all safe there.
When things turn scary, we know where the safe place is. I have learned to wake up every morning and spend some time here before I start my day. I never know what’s going to happen once the day begins, but here I’m safe.
Lord Jesus, thank You that even now, I can run to You and know I’m safe, protected and secure. Thank You for giving me a saving place of refuge. Thank You for being my Shepherd and carrying me forever. Amen.
Pastor Dan Giles