GOD IS MY SAFETY

For the next three weeks in this “Challenging Concepts” we’re going to look at what the Psalmist says about God in Psalm 36:7-10 “How excellent is thy lovingkindness, O God! therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of thy wings. They shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of thy house; and thou shalt make them drink of the river of thy pleasures. For with thee is the fountain of life: in thy light shall we see light. O continue thy lovingkindness unto them that know thee; and thy righteousness to the upright in heart.”

If I were to say to you, “God is” you might say to me is that a question or is it a statement. If it’s a question then we probably would have a lot of discussion. I don’t have a question as to Who God is. I was taught from a young child about who God is and what He has done for us. But I understand that some have not had the opportunities that I have and they might have a lot of questions. I invite people to ask my about God. In fact, my life’s verse is found in I Peter 3:15, “But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:”

But on the other hand, what if “God is” is a statement of fact. We read in Deuteronomy 4:35 "Unto thee it was shewed, that thou mightest know that the LORD he is God; there is none else beside him."

From this perspective, we have to look at this as a statement of fact. God is! The voice of the Psalmist declares "God Is" as a matter of fact. It is trust with no hedging. God Is!

This week we’re going to look at verse 7 “How excellent is thy lovingkindness, O God! therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of thy wings.” The Psalmist is stating emphatically that GOD IS OUR SAFETY.

I’ve heard people say that there is safety in numbers. I remember a time sometime between 1947-48 while my parents were attending Tennessee Temple Bible School, the forerunner of Tennessee Temple University. At that time we lived in a “trailer camp” owned by the school. It was made up of old WWII trailers with a central community bathhouse. It was low ground and during rainy season, that ran from January through December, there was a lot of mud. There was a lot of talk among the children about a gang of outlaws referred to as “Black Riders.” They were supposed to be in the area. One night we were told that the “Black Riders” were indeed in the vicinity of the camp. All of us kids were curious, but also afraid. My dad said that he would go with us to see if we could get a glimpse of the famed bandits. Unknown to us, my uncle Dempsy and some other men had donned themselves in black attire and were waiting around the corner of the bathhouse. As we got close they jumped out of the darkness and scared us too death. You have never seen a bunch of kids run so fast in all your life. This little fat kid (me) ran through the mud, lost my shoes and never looked back. I think my dad, who was supposed to be our safety, out ran every one of us. There was no safety that night in a man. We had the “Black Riders” out numbered, but there was no safety in numbers.

There is, though, safety in God. We read in Psalms 4:8 "I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep.: for thou, LORD, only makest me dwell in safety."

Oswald Chambers: "It is not our trust that keeps us, but the God in whom we trust who keeps us."

Psalms 91:1 "He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty." You have to be close to God to be in His shadow and share in His sheltering presence. God calls to each of us today to draw near to Him.

Hebrews 4:16 "Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need."

People put their trust in many, many things – money, business, bank account, possession, people, etc. In the economy of today, none of those things are secure.

The Government is working quickly to socialize our country and put most of the populous dependent upon it. I’m here to remind you of Russia, and the collapse of that socialist government. We also see many of the socialist governments of Europe on the brink of collapse. There is no safety in government.

There is only one place where we have absolute safety and that is in God. Notice verse 7 again “How excellent is thy lovingkindness, O God! therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of thy wings.”

Back in the 70’s and 80’s, when I was music director at Calvary Baptist in Lakeland, Florida and Tri-City Baptist in Kansas City, my choir would sing a song entitled “Underneath The Shadow Of His Wings.” Every time Bro. Lester Roloff would come to our church he wanted to hear the choir sing that song. He was going through a lot of deep waters and he knew first hand that the only place of safety was in God.

In the times in which we are living, we as believers have that safety. We need to rejoice and take comfort in that undisputable fact. THERE IS SAFETY IN MY GOD.

That’s my view; how about you?