Protection from Exposure

I was spending some time this morning reflecting on a familiar passage - Psalm 121. "I lift my eyes to the mountains from where does my help come from?" And what specifically came to light today was my understanding of God as Protector. Often when I would read this Psalm I would find myself confused by the question "How in the world can the moon do any harm to us?" I get how the sun can harm or smite us but when we're out enjoying the light of the full moon, we're not dousing ourselves with SPF 30. The moon cannot do any harm to us unless...unless we're in hiding.

Darkness has the ability to protect us from being seen or discovered. Hiding keeps us in the darkness from an enemy pursuing us. Or hiding keeps our sin from the exposing light of God's truth and holiness. In the garden the first response to the enemy and to the sin was to cover up not only skin but our location as well. God asks the question "where are you?" knowing we are taking flight from Him seeing us in our true condition. The moon has just as much the ability as the sun to expose us to our enemies and reveal our sin. Day or night, our sin and our state as enemies of God has the potential to be exposed. Enter God as protector. We were his enemies. He protected us from himself through the covering of His Son Jesus' blood, from the judgment which was ours to deserve for ignoring Him and walking rebelliously away from Him.

Therefore we can say with confidence "The LORD will protect our comings and our goings both now and forevermore" because we are saved from God's wrath by God's covering for God's glory. No longer afraid of exposure, because we are shaded by His Son.

One Year Down

Monday morning after a summer of swimming through Hebrew, I came upon this poem a friend of ours gave us just after we arrived here. I'm amazed how the first year's experience continue to confirm these truths:

In heavenly love abiding
No change my heart shall fear
And safe is such confiding
For nothing changes here
The storm may roar around me
My heart may low be laid
But God is round about me
And can I be dismayed?

Wherever He may guide me
No fear shall turn me back
My shepherd is beside me
And nothing shall I lack
His wisdom ever waketh
His sight is never dim
He knows the way He taketh
And I will walk with Him

Green pastures are before me
Which yet I have not seen
Bright skies will soon be o'er me
Where darker clouds have been
My hope I cannot measure
My path to life is free
My Savior is my treasure
And He will walk with me

Anna L. Waring

Author of Salvation

After several years of failing health, my grandmother is nearing her end here on earth. Yesterday, when my dad called to ask if I wanted to talk with her one final time, I felt this incredible wave of responsibility and, to some degree, panic. Here's the moment when the soon-to-be pastor should have the right words, the eloquent prayer and the clearly-presented Gospel. But all that I wanted to say was how much we loved her and were going to miss her. Miss her terribly. I prayed with her and for her that the beautiful reality of being with the LORD on the other side of death would be hers to experience.

I ended the call and headed to my car to head to work with tears which turned to gut-level sobbing. I found myself praying and saying things like "I hate death!" and "This is not the way it is supposed to be!" And more than that, I found myself pleading with God to be merciful to her. "LORD, You are the one who wrote this story. And in Your story, you included an incredible plot twist to our sin called salvation. Please, do what you do best and write this story of salvation in the heart of my grandmother. I love her so much but I love you more. Be real to her by being gracious to her in being Savior to her."

God reminded me in my painful drive to work why I am in seminary and learning things like the diagnostic principles of strong verbs in Hebrew. Because the Gospel is a story rich and full but most importantly vital to our lives and also our deaths. I want the remainder of my life to be about telling this story to whoever will listen and even when I am on my deathbed remembering the story will not end here. It ends with a glorious beginning of things made new, death abolished and Jesus receiving all of the credit!