Sunday, May 06, 2012

God Is Not Safe

God is not safe!

Or so I have come more and more to confess.  It was C. S. Lewis writing of the deific character Aslan that he was not "safe," but he was "good."  Being honest, I have tended to meditate on Scriptures like Psalm 121 that speak of our God always keeping watch over us and never letting us falter, or Psalm 91:1 and its opening line: "You who live in the secret place of Elyon, spend your nights in the shelter of Shaddai" (NJB).  I have camped upon the promises of provision and protection (which one encounters throughout Scripture), but I have been driven from my claim to shelter by the words of Job. 

The story of "patient Job" is one that reminds me that the God we serve is not safe.  We can certainly trust Him (and must), but we cannot assume that my doing right = my receiving immediate blessing.  The LORD is God...I am not.  He can raise up and put down.  He exalts and humbles...and without mathematical precision.  We rest in His grace and depend on Him always.  We can never presume upon His grace though (or else it would not be truly grace).  God speaks in the whirlwind and declares Himself to be God and us to be his creation. 

So...I worship trembling before the God of all...who is not safe as I would have him be, but is still "my rock and my fortress" though all else fails me...though life itself seem darkened by death and despair..the light of His glory shines eternal!  I will cast myself again and again at His mercy...for He will eventually answer!
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1 comment:

  1. Robert Lowrance12:42 PM

    I also have liked this quote from C. S. Lewis for some time. This reminds me a bit of Jer. 20:11, "But the LORD is with me to help me like an awe-inspiring warrior ...." What this brings to my mind is a guardian, who is gentle towards the one being protected, but very dangerous to any who would try to cause harm his charge.

    I believe your ideas above give additional breadth to the phrase, though. In particular, a parent may allow a child to go through certain things to teach vital life lessons, while, also limiting the danger of the situation. For instance, with Job, God gave definite boundaries to what Job would have to endure.

    God is good, and His concerns go beyond the temporal. We may not see the reason for some of the things we face until we are with Him.

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