In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, O Lord, will keep me safe. [Psalm 4:8 (NLT)]
Last year, in a gated community not too far from us, a woman woke in the middle of the night to see all of the lights on in her house. Since they’d all been turned off before retiring, she knew someone had been there (and possibly still was). After calling 911, she found that her husband’s wallet, their car keys (and car), and $10,000 worth of jewelry were missing. The thief had rifled through their car parked outside and used their garage door opener to access the house. The family decided to install security cameras to deter burglars from striking again.
Recently, a similar thing happened to a Wisconsin couple. They awoke to find their car and thousands of dollars’ worth of electronics stolen. During the night, a man broke into their locked car and used the garage door opener to enter their house. Then, after carefully removing his shoes, he walked through their three-story condo and collected his booty while the homeowners slept. The couple’s security cameras show that, at one point, the thief was less than three feet from the head of the bed they were occupying. The homeowner said that, from now on, he’ll bring in their garage door openers at night and lock the door between the house and garage.
While I’d love to know what it is that allowed those burglary victims to sleep so soundly that they were unaware of doors opening, lights being turned on, and people walking through their homes, I doubt they sleep so soundly now.
We can live in gated communities, triple lock our doors, mount security cameras, keep our garage door openers inside, have a dog, install an alarm and even set up booby traps for burglars as did little Kevin McCallister in Home Alone but no precaution is failsafe. Moreover, while safety measures may provide some security for our worldly goods, they do nothing to safeguard us from the myriad adversities, calamities and tragedies of life. Locked doors and alarm systems may deter burglars but they are useless against things like cancer, Alzheimer’s, betrayal, stroke, financial disaster, debt, depression, divorce, a loved one’s addiction, and death.
As Christians, we are not immune to burglars nor are we exempt from harm, disaster or loss. God’s love for us doesn’t inoculate us against calamity or misfortune any more than a security camera keeps out burglars. Suffering and hardship happen because we live in a fallen world and God offers us no more explanation than He did to Job. Because of God’s providence, however, we know that, ultimately, He has a good purpose for all the dark valleys through which we journey. Nothing passes through our lives that He has not allowed.
After we’ve exercised due caution to prevent intruders in our homes, let us all sleep peacefully tonight, secure in the knowledge that God is our safety and it is in Him that we find rest. May we lie down and sleep soundly, unafraid of what the night may bring because we trust in His power, love and wisdom. (Oh, and be sure not to leave your garage door opener in a car parked outside!)
Yesterday, I wrote of those times when we’re blind-sided by challenges and difficulty. When that happens, it truly is difficult to accept and trust God’s love and wisdom. Unfortunately, while Jesus made many promises, an easy life was not one of them. In fact, we’re told that troubles are pretty much guaranteed.
“It never occurred to me,” my friend said, “that I could outlive my wife.” Several years older than his spouse, overweight, diabetic and nearly blind, he always thought she’d be there to care for him. That, however, was before she suffered a stroke, had complications from carotid artery surgery, was diagnosed with cancer, had another surgery, and started a regimen of chemotherapy (all within a few months’ time.) Like a deer caught in the headlights, he was almost frozen in disbelief, bewilderment, and fear.
It’s a common misconception that Saul became known as Paul when Jesus transformed the Christian hater into a Christ follower on the road to Damascus. Saul, however, was always named Paul. As a Roman citizen, he would have had a three part Roman name. While we don’t know the first two parts, the third (the cognomen) and commonly used name was Paullus (which becomes Paul in English). As devout Jews, however, his parents also would have given him a Hebrew name. They named him Saul, a good name for a boy from the tribe of Benjamin (King Saul’s tribe). Understandably, when among Jews, Saul would have used his Hebrew name and Luke, the writer of Acts, refers to him as Saul until Acts 13, about fifteen years after his conversion. Saul (and Luke) started using his Roman/Gentile name of Paul around the time he moved further into the Roman Empire on his first missionary journey. As he moved into Gentile territory, Paul’s Roman name was more appropriate. The Apostle was not alone in having both a Roman and Hebrew name. One of the candidates to replace Judas had two Jewish names, Joseph and Barsabbas, along with the Roman one of Justus.
On the night He was betrayed, Jesus forewarned the disciples of the grief and fear they’d encounter in the days ahead. In his short parable about labor and delivery, Jesus prepared the remaining eleven disciples for the emotions they would encounter over the next three days: their anguish and despair as He hung upon the cross, died, and was buried. For His followers, those three days would feel like an eternity of hopelessness. But, as happens when a woman beholds her newborn baby after hours of painful labor, their despair would turn to joy when they saw the resurrected Christ!
