Safe Thus Far
June 09, 2017
He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings. - Psalm 40:2
Grace Has Brought Me Safe Thus Far
I tread cautiously on the subject of safety, for safety is an ultimate value, not a temporal one. It is often misunderstood as the absence of danger or trouble or even risk. That is not the characteristic of the Christian life. Rather, Christianity promises ultimate safety and the safety of ultimate things. He has brought us, by His grace, through dangers, toils, and snares. These we have experienced fully and yet, safely, unscathed spiritually by external circumstances and with the confidence that His grace will lead us home to eternal safety.
And the tree of the field shall yield her fruit, and the earth shall yield her increase, and they shall be safe in their land, and shall know that I am the LORD, when I have broken the bands of their yoke, and delivered them out of the hand of those that served themselves of them. - Ezekiel 34:27
There is a time and a place for safety without ‘playing it safe” throughout life. It is grace, God’s grace that brings us to the safe place for He Himself is the rock of safety for our lives. The struggles are present to teach us the source of our strength. The hardships train us to know that He is the LORD. We have come this far to realize that we must trust Him for our deliverance.
I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, LORD, only makest me dwell in safety.
The horse is prepared against the day of battle: but safety is of the LORD.
- Proverbs 21:31 and Psalm 4:8
While we look for false and temporal assurances, we miss the full impact of what peace, sleep, and safety in Him really are. When we trust in what we can control, we falter.
Grace has brought us safe thus far. Nothing else could. We neither earned it nor deserved it. It was simply grace, unmerited favor toward unworthy human beings whom He happens to love passionately and unconditionally.
What a blessing to be counted among them.