God is a safe place to hide, ready to help when we need Him.
We stand fearless at the cliff-edge of doom, courageous in seastorm & earthquake
Before the rush & roar of oceans, the tremors that shift mountains.
Jacob-wrestling God fights for us, GOD -of-Angel-Armies protects us.
River fountains splash joy, cooling God’s city, this sacred haunt of the Most High.
God lives here, the streets are safe,
God at your service from crack of dawn, day & night.
God rejecting nations rant & rave, kings & kingdoms threaten,
but Earth does anything God says.
Psalm 46:1-6 MSG
It’s amazing that God in what appears chaos raging all around is in control.
To see God as the Jacob wrestling God is an effective imagery by Eugene Peterson
in his masterful paraphrase.
The image God of angel armies is another clever characterization.
Only a third of the Angels fell in revolt with Satan becoming demons.
This was not a sign of intelligence or of power.
So we have this Angelic Army of God twice as large,
no doubt more powerful & intelligent.
So, we’re fearless, because God is our safe place-and
this is not only stimulating
this is totally exhilarating!
Do we get juiced by the things around us,
is it feasible to arrive in this state where nothing
can upset us or disrupt our calm?
Can we be imperturbable, unruffled & unflappable?
Paul could see his future was “bonds & afflictions”, but he wrote triumphantly,
“But none of these things move me.”
Everything in Paul’s life & experience that could be shaken had been shaken,
and he no longer counted his life, or any of life’s possessions, dear to him.
And we, if we will let God have His way with us, may come to this same place,
so that neither the fret & tear of little things of life, nor the great & heavy trials,
can have power to move us from the peace that passes understanding,
which is declared to be the portion of those who have learned to rest only on God.
Jesus, when facing arrest, false mocking witnesses,
and a kangaroo court of non-sensical accuser.
Jesus, when knowing this charade would result in
His torture & grueling crucifixion.
Set His face as a flint to go to Jerusalem.
So Jesus says to us:
in Me you have peace
In the world you have tribulation,
but take courage;
I have overcome the world
John 16:33
Paul notes: But in all these things we overwhelmingly
conquer through Him who loves us
Romans 8:37
This is a high bar.
“Beyond the storm,
Where blue sky
Still cradles
The morning sun.
In the clearing,
Where shafts of light
Hold back the shadows
Of the ancient wood.
Beyond conflict and pain
And the inhumanity of man.
Beyond duty
And this journey
That has seemed so long.
Beyond the history
That has brought me
To this sacred place,
This spiritual sanctuary.
This peace,
This silence,
This love.”
Chris Roe
