We lock the doors and windows to our homes.
We wear seatbelts when we drive or ride in
vehicles. We wear helmets (and sometimes more)
when we ride bicycles. We wear helmets and,
usually, special clothing when we ride
motorcycles—gloves, leathers, boots. Law
enforcement and military wear Kevlar. We remove
dangerous trees from our yards. We carry health
insurance. We carry vehicle insurance. We carry
life insurance. We make sure our dwellings are
insured as well. We bundle up when it is cold
outside. We carry umbrellas in the rain. We apply
sunscreen, wear wide-brimmed hats, and make
sure shade is available when the sun is bright and
the weather is hot. We are covered virtually head
to toe in padding when we play football. Batters
wear helmets, and some add elbow, foot, and leg
pads. Gymnasts have mats and pads and
spotters. Pools, lakes, and oceans have
lifeguards. And on and on it goes. Human beings
do a lot in life to safeguard what is important to us.
In Psalm 18, the psalmist declares, “The
LORD is my rock and my fortress and my
deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge,
my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my
stronghold.” In Psalm 118, the psalmist
announces, “The LORD is on my side; I will not
fear. What can man do to me?” The poet in Psalm
94 proclaims, “When I thought, ‘my foot slips,’ your
steadfast love, O LORD, held me up. When the
cares of my heart are many, your consolations
cheer my soul.”
We will continue our helmet-wearing,
insurance-carrying, winter coat-donning,
sunscreen-applying ways. And we should. Far
above all that, however, we must acknowledge,
praise, follow, and imitate the God who shelters us
from things for which there is otherwise no
protection.
–Ricky
