Secure in God – Ric Newsom

Before the Covid-19 outbreak, I usually went to several live music shows every month, and I baked only a handful of times. Over the past year, those figures have practically flipped. Of course there were more serious changes as well. I’ve had some pay cuts, and I’m planning a wedding while wondering if my closest loved ones will be able to attend. 

Through the ongoing reality of Covid-19 we’ve all felt anxious, afraid, relieved, annoyed, and a whole list of other emotions or combinations of emotions all at once. Collectively, it has impacted our comfort, security, and safety in almost every way imaginable. When events begin to affect these areas of our lives, they expose where we seek stability and hope: finances, government, routine, hobbies, etc. 

To use Jesus’ words from Matthew 7:24-27, adversity shows us if we have “built our house on rock or sand.” Or a bit more bluntly, it shows us what we have turned to as our “gods.” As a point of comparison, let’s take Psalm 121 (HCSB):

I lift my eyes toward the mountains.

Where will my help come from?

My help comes from the Lord,

the Maker of heaven and earth.

He will not allow your foot to slip;

your Protector will not slumber.

Indeed, the Protector of Israel

does not slumber or sleep.

The Lord protects you;

the Lord is a shelter right by your side.

The sun will not strike you by day

or the moon by night.

The Lord will protect you from all harm;

He will protect your life.

The Lord will protect your coming and going

both now and forever.

Looking at some of the places where I seek stability and hope, if I try to replace the words “Lord” and “He” from the Psalm with their names it frankly makes the psalm sound quite ridiculous. “Concerts will protect you from all harm;” “stocks will not allow your foot to slip.” Of course, the issue isn’t that we think trips overseas or a new president will fulfill all these promises. No, rather it is that we don’t have faith God will fulfill them. So we turn to more immediate, tangible sources of comfort, security, and safety. Then we project our disappointment in our failed earthly hopes onto God, and we miss His purpose for our hope. 

Finding our hope in God is not about our positive emotional experience. Indeed, God loves us and works constantly for our good, even taking the role of a servant in the form of Jesus. But he does not exist to cater to our interests. As such, the ultimate hope God provides us extends beyond our personal comfort and good feelings. His hope calls us to step out into uncertainty from our security in him - to love recklessly as a shepherd braving treacherous terrain and deadly animals to rescue just one lost sheep. “Now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love.” 1 Cor. 13:13 (HCSB)

---