January 1st - Psalm 91:2

Psalm 91:2 This I declare about the LORD: He alone is my refuge, my place of safety; he is my God, and I trust him. I will never forget where I was when I heard the news of the 9/11 attack on the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in 2001. I was buying carpet with my wife in a large store in Exeter, standing at the till. A woman was describing to the shop assistant the awful events in such a way that I assumed that she was talking about a film. Such things don’t happen in real life – or so I thought! As I listened to the conversation, it suddenly became clear that she was talking about a real event, and the horror of it started to sink in. Thousands of people were snatched away in an instant. All of them had gone to work that day with the not unreasonable expectation that they would return home safe and well, but they didn’t. Such events are exceptional, thank God, but we all live in a precarious world where none of us enjoys complete safety and security. In such a world, it is important that we recognise where our ultimate security lies. This is a theme which the psalmists returned to time and again. They often reflected on the reality of life’s dangers and the ferocity of their enemies. They were often surrounded by attackers. They were fully aware that God didn’t stop them going through difficult and dangerous times, and neither does he offer to do that for us. We might like God to be a ‘Bridge over troubled water’, but time and again, the Bible tells us that he actually invites us to wade through the middle of those troubled waters. Our security lies in the fact that, as we face threats and challenges, he is with us. In Isaiah 43:2, God says: “When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown.” We might prefer it if God gave us a detour, but he doesn’t. His promise is that he will be with us when we face the waters, because he is our true security for time and eternity. Question How do you respond to the fact that in God, you are eternally secure? Prayer Lord God, I thank you that you are my refuge and place of safety and that I can look to the future with confidence and peace. Amen