Isaiah 41:10 Fear thou not, for I am with thee; be not dismayed, for I am thy God; I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.

It’s not enough for Him to be there, though, apparently. Because even though the reality of His presence may have passed through the mind as a fleeting thought, the presentation of dire circumstances still brings fear and terror to the heart. Although a prayer of salvation was prayed some time ago, there is still an overwhelming sense of vulnerability and helplessness before the challenge of life that is so ominous.

A friend of mine has his pilot’s license, owns his own plane and is even building one that I’m sure he’ll crawl into and fly someday. He is instrument rated so he can fly not only when everything is clearly visible through the windows, but also at night and at times when the clouds greatly reduce visibility. I would be most confident getting in his plane and going for a ride, knowing that he is an excellent pilot and is more than capable of using all the plane’s ability to lift us up in the air and transport us above the land. I might have a twinge of trepidation, but for the most part I could have a peaceful time of fellowship riding high above the clouds.

If, however, I was presented with the life or death requirement of flying a plane alone and by myself, there would be a much different feeling about crawling in that plane.  I might have seen this done before and know that the plane is more than capable of safely carrying me through the air, but somehow its frame around me would not bring the same comfort and security it did when my friend was there with me. My lack of familiarity with the instruments and controls would definitely cause my heart to do some major flip- flops and the same conditions that are of no concern for the practiced pilot would probable mean my premature demise, whether by crash or heart attack.

Somehow the mere presence of the plane would not bring freedom from fear. For that plane to be of any comfort at all to me personally, I would have to spend time becoming familiar with its operation, the function of each control, and just how that plane will respond to my actions. I might have to go with someone for a while, hear their experienced instruction, and heed their helpful correction. Intuition might be helpful, but to rely alone on what seems right to me is to insure my failure. It is said that total reliance must remain upon the instruments and what they say, because strong urges of what ‘seems’ right will surely try to influence and demand actions that lead to a crash.  Just giving in to how the plane is made, though, and learning to utilize its incredible powers is to be taken safely to a specific destination.

Our God is continually around us, ready to lift us up and carry us over the storms of life to His prepared destination. To really get there, though, free from fear and enabled by the upholding power of His strong arm, there may need to be some time spent in becoming familiar with Him. He is capable of incredible things that are really far above our comprehension, but to engage His power is to yield to His functions and His ways. At the time when it may ‘seem’ the most like one action is necessary, learning His ways may require a very different movement. Becoming used to His voice and responding to His instruction will turn those once ‘crash-filled’ trips into safe and peaceful passages. The more awareness is accompanied by understanding and obedience, the more fear will be removed and provision made.

There is really no need for being afraid, dismayed or weak. We can crawl into Him and be safely surrounded by His perfection. In order to live there safely, He has also made it possible through His Word to discover His ways and His will. Rather than crashing and falling and becoming fearful of living, His surrounding presence can be the refuge and transportation that is its purpose. We can live and move and have our very being in Him, far from oppression; for we won’t fear: and from terror; for it shall not come near. (Acts 17:28, Isaiah 54:14)

Psalms 23:6 MKJV  Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I shall dwell in the house of Jehovah forever.

What a comfort it is to consider the leading of the most High, that He is continually providing for all our necessities with regard to food, protection, peace, and rest. Before He can be any of these things, however, He must first be what He is declared to be in the very first verse- a Shepherd that is embraced, possessed, looked up to and eternally possessed in submission. All the subsequent scenes of sweet communion will have no place in reality until the One that is leading there is seen as way more than just a companion, but as the only hope for life at all. A single step cannot be made towards His provision and place of quiet bliss until He is considered to be the great God of not only wonderful blessed provision, but also the One with the rod and the staff, the One who is completely and uncompromisingly Holy. No claim on the provision has any validity until there has been total surrender and submission to the One from whom all blessings flow. The goodness and mercy that is anticipated is more than just a wish in the heart of the One who understands the faithfulness of the great God of judgment. An awareness of His faithfulness in correction and consequence brings incredible confidence to the one who merely yields to His will in every aspect of life. Rather than being concerned in the least about any area of need, there is an abundant assurance that all is well with the One who is equally faithful to provide for all who comply to His will.

To dwell in the house of provision has everything to do with giving honor to the one who has secured the dwelling, stocked it with essentials, and protected it from threats. There is no passion for hanging out in the abode of one whose rules and standards are dishonored and ignored. When there is no respect for the power and integrity of the owner there will be an expectation of something quite opposite to goodness and mercy- rebellion and destructive judgment. The stories of David’s own sons are clear examples of this. Though Absalom and Solomon had the same relationship to David, there was great contrast in their perception of their father, and ultimately great contrast in what would follow their actions. Absalom, in failing to see the divinely given power and might of his father, chose instead to undermine and rebel. Though gifted as a leader, his dishonor and disrespect for his father prohibited his residence in a palace that was his every right to occupy. His failure to possess his inheritance in submission to his father brought an inevitable consequence of total loss and death.

His brother, though, maybe impacted by the example played out before him, held onto a passionate possession of not only his father’s relationship, but his position of authority and power in his life. Beyond the obvious human failures, he saw in his father a man who had been faithful to the God who had blessed him with protection and provision. Rather than resisting and rebelling for his own ambitions, he found in humility and submission a great opportunity for extended residence in the house of his honored father. In seeking wisdom over material blessings, he demonstrated complete and total deference to the One that would make all that other stuff just follow behind him as a wake.

For this day, there is a path that is lit and leading to restful provision. Its destination, though, is the dwelling place of the Almighty, Holy, and uncompromising Shepherd whose provision of goodness and mercy requires humble and fearful submission to the superiority of His will. To dwell is to first possess total honor for the Shepherd.

1 Corinthians 13:13 ASV(13)  But now abideth faith, hope, love, these three; and the greatest of these is love.

It would seem that nothing in our world today has any permanence or dependability. The companies and businesses that had once been part of our nation’s foundation and stability are falling apart and being bought out by foreign entities. Several years ago I went through the process of getting my securities license in order to sell mutual funds. A strong point in the presentation process for selling many of these products was their history of weathering financial hard times, that they would be there through any difficulties and owning their stock would mean long term growth and security. The car companies were part of this group and it would have never been considered that these rocks of the American economy could not be there at least in our lifetime. Yet, this last week Chrysler has been purchased by Fiat and General Motors is also close to bankruptcy. The indestructible rocks are apparently crumbling under a storm that exposes and attacks a vulnerability that was really there all the time, and while there are other entities that would be still appear secure, nothing in our world today is exempt from this vulnerability. The ground is moving and all things built on these worldly elements are obviously shifting and revealing the weakness of their foundation.

To this atmosphere of uncertainty and fear there is this wonderful word that comes to bring hope of something substantial- ‘abideth’. While there is erosion and removal of all other elements, a rock that is made of an indestructible substance will weather the greatest storm and ‘abide’, remain, and still be something on which you can build a structure throughout a lifetime and beyond. Knowing the true nature of a natural substance beneath the surface is something that can be studied and determined by involved seismic testing and historical reference. There is likewise a proving that has taken place since the beginning of time- storms that have raged and regimes that have been overthrown- and through the greatest of these tests there has been these three elements that have remained after all others have washed away- faith, hope and love. For the one who has established their foundation on the bed-rock, the unshakeable and the immovable, there is great confidence and peace no matter how greatly the storm rages. Sleep can be sweet and rest complete at the very time when the ground is shaking and the thunder is ominous, because there is a knowing that when all else has been beaten down and washed away, there will still ‘abide’ this secure foundation.

There will be an end to all of this. Much will be proven for what it really is and there will be no doubt as to what the true rock is and what has just been sold as secure, but with much vulnerability. Though the shaking is inevitable there is a place of perfect peace for us on the Rock of Ages and as long as the building that takes place in our lives today is a building on faith, hope, and love, there can be an unwavering confidence in the eternal existence and dependability of the One who will abide forever and our permanence in Him.

James 1:17 KJV
(17)  Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.

This past Christmas season it seemed like there was an increase of opposition to the celebration of Christ as the reason for the holiday. There were anti-God displays positioned next to Christmas displays in an effort to come directly against any belief in or need for Jesus. There was one particular effort on their part, however, that, from my perspective, did much more to affirm the need for God than dissemble it. I believe it was a statement on a tee-shirt or small poster that read, “Be good for goodness sake”, with the implication that goodness was reason alone– no need for God. For the one who has a true understanding of the origin of any goodness, though, this is but an affirmation of faith and a further motivation for the commitment of one’s life to the only One who is truly good. For all the efforts of the independent that see themselves as existing apart from the necessity of God in their life, there can really be no ‘goodness’ without the inclusion of God and the embrace of His most perfect gift of ‘goodness’ in His Son, Jesus.

As we are drawn to a place of nearness to our good, good Father, there is an ever-increasing desire to do just that, though– be good. Where there may be a tendency to be otherwise, the holiness and righteousness of God, along with the severity for choosing otherwise will align steps along the path that is right. Romans 2:4 states that it is actually the goodness of God that brings us to a place where goodness in our own life is even possible. Until this is our story, that repentance, motivated by His goodness, has displaced the badness in our way of life, there can be no enjoyment of goodness. There is no ’being good’ until the One from whom the ’goodness’ comes is embraced in an atmosphere of holy repentance. This is our place today, though, and this is our opportunity– for the gift of His goodness to take hold in our hearts and lives and for there to be evidence in the way we live. We can really be ‘good for goodness sake’ with a heart of worship that knows the Good One.

Psalms 11:1-2 MSG
(1)  A David psalm. I’ve already run for dear life straight to the arms of GOD. So why would I run away now when you say, “Run to the mountains;
(2)  the evil bows are bent, the wicked arrows Aimed to shoot under cover of darkness at every heart open to God.

She had heard them from the time they got out of the truck on the far side of the field, and immediately her pulse had begun to quicken. Although nestled safely in a hole behind some bushes, an uncertainty made its way into her heart. She had heard them before when they had come a couple weeks ago and drove away with several of her relatives tucked away in their bags. She had helped many of her family prepare their own safe places and couldn’t understand how one after one of them left their refuge to be shot right away as they attempted to escape in flight.

It was the dogs! And now, as she continued to listen intently, she could hear the dreaded sound of their excited barking as they eagerly anticipated the hunt. Not only did they produce that annoying and obnoxious sound, but they possessed this terrible ability to locate well-hidden prey, point it out to their master, and then rush in to flush it out of its hiding. There was one of them apparently headed right towards her hiding place even now, and her heart began to nearly leap out of her chest as she could no longer hear any sound from the dog, only shouts from the man with the gun. She knew what would come next. Would she be able to hold tight and resist the dog’s flushing or would she give way to that natural urge to abandon the security of her refuge? She closed her eyes, determining to resist all temptations to take flight and join those who had gone before to the destination of the bag.

A cleft in the Rock has been prepared for us. It’s a perfectly safe place, a refuge that is completely protected from any threat of the one who is going around, making a bunch of annoying sounds with his roar, and seeking to flush us out so he can put us in his bag and devour us. Although he is quite clever with his methods and while his success has been frequent with those that may even be close to us, the only way his weapons will be able to inflict any damage is if he can bully us, entice us, tempt us, or just somehow scare us into taking flight. The heart may leap into the chest and flight syndrome may kick in big time, but no matter how loud or real the threats, the only real safety and freedom from the power of his terror is in the shadow of the Redeemer’s wing, in the Secret Place of the Almighty. Once established and settled in to this cozy place at the Master’s side there will never be a legitimate need to go elsewhere. There will never be another entity or source that will require our departure from its security. In fact, the only way the hunter of our soul can touch us with his treachery is if he can persuade us to seek safety or fulfillment somewhere else. Only in departing from our place in worship will we lose our invincible protection. Only in taking flight for another apparently ‘better’ place will there be ability for his arrows to find their mark.

Having found our place in Christ, having been placed in our own personal eternal refuge, how could we ever depart from it for any other destination? Here come the dogs, though. There are the shouts and threats. What will we actually do when he comes rushing in? The Spirit of the Lord will raise up a standard if we will but remain behind it in our peaceful, protected place in worship.

Isaiah 59:19 KJV
(19)  So shall they fear the name of the LORD from the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun. When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the LORD shall lift up a standard against him.

Acts 5:11-12 KJV
(11)  And great fear came upon all the church, and upon as many as heard these things.
(12)  And by the hands of the apostles were many signs and wonders wrought among the people; (and they were all with one accord in Solomon’s porch.

Where real fear has been instilled and where it has risen to dominate other emotions, it will constrain, correct, and enable. Also, where fear of one entity may have once reigned, an introduction to a greater and more overwhelming force can bring liberation from the restraints of that former bondage.

For some reason there were those that had let other motivations and desires dim the reality of just who they were dealing with when they chose to mislead and deceive. Driven by fears of both rejection and loss, Ananias and Sapphira chose to pacify both fears by misrepresenting their offering. With no regard at all for the One to whom their gift was really being given, they instead sought to impress their fellow church members and still retain what their hearts feared losing. While the consequences of their choices would be tragic, a great fear came on those that observed their demise, and with this fear an awareness of the Almighty, removing the influence of any other condemning and debilitating fear. The demonstration of God’s power and might that followed this fear was made possible by hearts that became more concerned about pleasing their Father than pacifying their friends or fortunes.

Other forces in life will persistently attempt to rise in prominence with the restraining and dominating fear of not pleasing or pacifying their passions. In praise and worship, however, there is an opportunity to observe the incredibly overwhelming power of our holy Father, and become completely and totally liberated from any former restraints of fear. In the atmosphere where a holy fear of God dominates all others, there will be an outpouring of His Spirit that will bring down walls, destroy giants and move mountains that once seemed so ominous and impenetrable. Today in His presence may fear of our most Holy Father rise above any other and may this fear enable an incredible demonstration of His heart to deliver, transform and provide.