Safe In God's Everlasting Arms

“The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms” (Deuteronomy 33:27, NIV).

About a week ago, it was a warm and lovely October evening.  I decided to get out of the house, pick up some dinner, and eat at a park behind our house.  I sat for a while eating my dinner and watching kids and parents walk by.  Some were just arriving for a little league baseball game.  Others were exercising on the walking path or playing soccer in the fields below. 

After eating, I walked to a nearby bench.  Suddenly, a little girl (perhaps two or three years old) ran out in front of me.  She was headed straight for the parking lot.  I quickly jumped up and encircled my arms around her.  She immediately started to twist and turn, trying to get away.  A few seconds later, her dad came running up, grabbed her and thanked me profusely for stopping his little girl from running into the street.  She had eluded him in a game, he said, as children love to do.

It immediately flashed through my mind how much we are just like that little girl.  When God sends trials and hardships our way, we twist and turn, wanting desperately to break free from our Father’s hold and the path He has put us on.  We want to go our own way, believing it is better than the way God has chosen for us.  If I had let that little girl go, she might have run straight into the path of an oncoming vehicle.  She could have been injured or worse.  But my arms were around her, protecting her from danger, just as God’s arms of protection are always beneath us.

Our Heavenly Father knows what is ahead in our lives.  He has ordained it from start to finish.  He understands completely our suffering and pain.  No human being has ever undergone more suffering, humiliation and pain than Jesus did when He came to earth and died on the cross for the sins of His people.  As Christians, we have no need to worry.  We are safe, sheltered and protected from the storms of life in His everlasting arms. 

Do you have a personal relationship with Jesus?  Is He your Lord and Savior?  Or maybe you find yourself twisting and tugging to pull free from the path God has placed you on?  Remember our Father is Sovereign, and there is no one on this earth who loves you more than God does.  He alone is our refuge, and always underneath are His everlasting arms.

Dear Father – Thank You that You alone are our refuge from life’s storms!