The safest refuge

John Hatcher is pastor of Outreach International Center, 1091 South Jeff Davis Drive, Fayetteville, Georgia 30215. 770-719-0303

By John Hatcher
Contributing Writer

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 sea storm and earthquake,

Before the rush and roar of oceans,

And the tremors that shift mountains

Jacob-wrestling God fights for us,

God of angel armies protects us. (Message Bible, Psalm 46:1-3)

Where is that shelter designated by God in which we can hide and ride out the storm? It must be some kind of bunker so we would be absolutely fearless in sight of doom and courageous in the fury of wind and wave.

The bunker is that bed-rock faith in a great God.

The Bible comforts believers who have weathered the storm and who face future storms, “We know that God causes all things to work together for good, to those who love God and called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28). Though God does not bring every storm in life, he is ready to translate the debris and destruction of the storm into a new direction with new resources. As someone said it, “God can take the mess and make it a message.”

News reporters can only report a few deaths in the path of the massage storm. Ever wondered why? God’s angel armies were on the scene before the National Guard. The dying words of John Wesley, the great Methodist revivalist and hymn writer, were, “The best of all is, God is with us.”

Attention, all! See the marvels of God!

He plants flowers and trees all over the earth,

Bans war from pole to pole,

Breaks all the weapons across his knee.

“Step out of the traffic! Take a long,

Loving look at me, your High God,

Above politics, above everything.”

Jacob-wrestling God fights for us,

God of angel armies protects us. (Message Bible, Psalm 46:8-11)

Florida has been the center of politics for several years now. Florida’s distinctives have been growing with its population: a divergent population, home to Kennedy Space Center, fun capital for the eastern portion of the United States. There’s probably more “chatter” in Florida than any other state of the union. In this wonderful Psalm, God strongly suggests that we turn off our engines, get out of our noise, and go someplace where we can take a good long look at him, the creator of the universe.

God is the only one to whom we can turn to find comfort when our lives have been turned upside down by a massive anything, even a storm. He is the only one who can give comfort to Russian mothers and fathers wailing in grief over the tragic deaths of hundreds of children. Those who turn to God will find his peace; others will seek revenge to avenge the death of their daughters and sons.

In the strange light of death and destruction, we can see through the eyes of faith that there is a God who cares for us and fights for us, who sends armies of angels to protect us. There we can find peace and comfort. Enough peace and comfort so that we can begin to rebuild from the ruins — whether those ruins are those of our dream home or a child who was the apple of a father’s eye.

Some people will decide to move out of Florida. I just hope they will move into God’s protective shelter.

John Hatcher is pastor of Outreach International Center, 1091 South Jeff Davis Drive, Fayetteville, Georgia 30215. 770-719-0303