Thursday, April 29th, 2010 "Safe & Sound"

Tsunami Ministries Devotional by Steve Keaton
Thursday, April 29th, 2010
Title: Safe & Sound
Text: Proverbs 18:10 (NIV)
10 The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe.


Have you ever been caught in the midst of a pretty severe storm? I'm talking about the kind that shakes the entire house and makes the windows seem as if they're about to fall in? I vividly remember as a child being right in the middle of a spring time thunderstorm that seemed to have come out of nowhere. I was probably 11 or 12 years old and I was at the baseball field. I had been dropped off for a game and was awaiting the rest of the team and coaches to show up. My mom had to run a quick errand and had vowed to be back by game time. Well, over the next few minutes the wind started whipping and the dark clouds began rolling in, and before we all knew it the thunder and lighting started one spectacular show. And here I stood, smack in the middle of what seemed like the heavy wash cycle of a washing machine. So, I did what any responsible and sound-thinking young person would do, I RAN! I lived about a mile from the ball field and I decided to run down the main road between my house and the field in hopes that my mom would be on her way back to field to get me. Of course this was long before the introduction of cell phones and there was nowhere else to seek shelter. So I just tucked my tail, dropped my head and I ran as fast as I could toward my house.

As I lumbered down the sidewalk, I can remember thinking that what I was doing was just a bit dangerous. And the extraordinary loud booms of thunder that followed the blinding flash of lighting strikes confirmed my notion. All I had in mind was reaching the safety of my house. I just knew that once I made it to my destination, all would be good and I'd be safe and sound.

Once I reached my goal, and fell through the doorway, I just stood there dripping on the carpet like a soaked dog. I glared out of the open door and marveled at the sheets of rain that fell from the sky and violently collided with the ground. And in that moment I felt it. It surrounded me like a warm blanket or the comfort of my mom's arms. I felt safe. I knew that what I had just gone through was over and that everything would be okay. Even thought my heart continued to pound out of my chest, I was indeed safe and sound in the refuge of my home.

I know that we often experience very similar storms in our lives. There are times with the whipping winds and violent scenes of the day to day lives we live seem to push us, shake us and twist us like a tree in a hurricane. The violence of the circumstances, fear of the encounter and uncertainty of what is exactly taking place can shake us to our core. And how do we react in those circumstances? Hopefully we run. Not necessarily running away from something, but actually running towards something. The safety and security that can only be found in the refuge of our Lord. A presence that stands firm, sheltering us from the often turbulent, sometimes unforeseen and always frightening storms of life.

Maybe you can relate to my rambling. Maybe you've experienced the calming effect of finding sanctuary that can only be truly experienced in seeking the comfort of God. The understanding that even though we will endure the storms of life, that God will always be there for us and help us whether whatever the world throws at us . And knowing the fact that life will sometimes seem to be more than we can handle, God's love for us will always, without question, enable us to be safe and sound.