Are You Safe?
In the heart of every person there is a desire to be safe and secure. Little children are often afraid of being left alone. They also may fear the dark, or the unknown. Children crave the security of being held in the loving embrace of their parents. There they feel confident and protected. As we mature, the desire to be safe and secure never leaves us. This inborn desire was given to us by our Creator. While some men act fearless, in their hearts they may fear the unknown, suffering, accident, or sickness. They may also have an uneasy feeling about what might happen to them after death.
God is the creator of heaven and earth. Making man was the crowning act of his creation. He placed Adam and his wife Eve in a paradise home called the Garden of Eden. They were secure, happy, and free. Then Satan appeared in the form of a serpent and deceived them. Because of their disobedience to God, they fell out of fellowship with Him and were driven from Eden (Genesis 3).
What a drastic change! Before, Adam and Eve had been safe and without fear. They were at peace with their Creator, enjoying his presence. Now, instead of inner peace, there was unrest, guilt, and fear. They were even afraid of God and hid from Him! They had experienced spiritual death, which is separation from God. When fellowship with Him was broken through disobedience, there was deep distress in their hearts. Only fellowship with the living God can satisfy the soul.
Man’s inner conflict has also caused all manner of outward conflict, often resulting in murder or war. There has always been much strife on earth; one tribe quarrels with another, one nation strives to bring another nation under its rule. In these conflicts, one nation has always emerged victorious, only to weaken later and become subject to another nation. The prophet Daniel says, “That the living may know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will” (Daniel 4:17), and “He removeth kings, and setteth up kings” (Daniel 2:21).
The numerous, brazen acts of terrorism around the world have shaken the security of many people. These events have brought fear into many hearts and an uncertainty about the future.
Complete text of: Are You Safe?
We all hope that we can continue to live in safety and security. The success of a nation depends on God’s blessings. If men repent of their sinful lives and fear Him, He may choose to lengthen the days of that nation’s tranquility (Daniel 4:27). William Wilberforce, a former member of the British Parliament, said that his hope for Britain depended “not so much on her navies and armies, nor on the wisdom of her rulers, as on the persuasion that she still contains many who love and obey the gospel of Christ, that their prayers may prevail.” The safety of a nation depends less upon its military might and more upon the prevalence of righteousness and the fear of God among its people.
Our personal safety is a separate matter. We can have an inner security that no earthly nation can offer. Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence” (John 18:36). The kingdoms of this world are in God’s hands and will not endure forever. Our personal relationship with God is of a different dimension. When we are in God’s kingdom, we are in a kingdom that is not subject to the success or failure of any earthly nation. His kingdom is much more secure than any superpower. There we are safe, regardless of what happens to any nation. Kingdoms rise and fall, but Jesus promised that no man is able to pluck his children out of his Father’s hand (John 10:29).
According to Bible prophecy, “evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse” (2 Timothy 3:13). The future offers no security. The strife and turmoil around the world may grow worse as eternity approaches. There is a day coming in which God has determined “that there should be time no longer” (Revelation 10:6). In 2 Peter 3:10 we read, “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.” The Holy Scriptures say that every knee shall bow, and that all men will be gathered before the throne of the almighty Judge. On that great Judgment Day, when “heaven and earth shall pass away” (Matthew 24:35), no earthly power will be able to give us safety. All people shall bow before the great King and be judged. No caves or fortresses will be able to protect those who seek refuge in them. All means of transportation will come to a halt. Man-made weapons will be useless. There will be no reassuring wail of sirens, no emergency or law-enforcement personnel rushing to our rescue. You and I will face the great Judge all alone. At that point, our only safety will be if our name is written in the Book of Life in heaven (Luke 10:20). Our names are written in this book when we repent of our sins and believe in Jesus Christ. He then forgives us and we are cleansed through his precious blood, which was shed on the cross that the whole world could be saved. We are then accepted as children of God.
God’s children are not exempt from sickness or suffering. They may even lose their lives, but they need not fear because they are safe in the arms of Jesus. Regardless of what happens to them, they can trust that even suffering is for their good (Romans 8:28).
Do you long for security? Do you have deep inner yearnings that you cannot satisfy? Although the soul longs for God, the sinful nature of man reaches for fleshly desires. Without the peace of God, a sinner is “like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt” (Isaiah 57:20). In this conflict, too many people follow the path of least resistance and make a decision by indecision. Finally, they slip from life into death and face a long eternity.
Real and lasting peace can only be found when we surrender mind, body, and spirit to the One who has made us and loves us. He is not only the Master of the world, but He knows our lives from the beginning to the end. He came into this world “to give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace” (Luke 1:79). He suffered and shed his precious blood so that we can have peace and security.
Do you feel the weight of sin in your heart? Do you worry about the future, or do you try to block it out of your mind? Are you burdened with more than you can bear? Do you desire to be safe and secure? Jesus said, “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you” (Matthew 7:7). The Lord has a remedy for your sins. He is the great burden-bearer, and nothing is too difficult for Him. Acts 3:19 urges “Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord.” God, speaking through the prophet Jeremiah, promised, “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end… And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:11, 13).