A Thought For The Week Of August 8, 2016

"You are my hiding place and my shield. My hope is based on your word." One of the things that this verse makes clear is that there's danger out there in the world. Actually, as a whole the Psalms are pretty consistent on that point. So many of them seem to point to the presence of danger. This one does so: "You are my hiding place and my shield." Both imply danger. Interestingly, both are also passive and defensive. We're not supposed to go on the attack apparently. We're supposed to recognize how to care for ourselves. And, ultimately, we're to recognize that it's God who takes care of us. So, God is first a refuge. A refuge is a place we go to find safety and security when we're in danger. So when faced with danger we go to God as our place of refuge. Interestingly, that makes us, in a sense, refugees. In a time when there's a lot of debate about refugees and whether we should support and accept them, this verse tells us that we are refugees ourselves as we seek refuge and safety from God. The verse tells us secondly that God is our shield. A shield is a defensive weapon. It's not something we use to attack our opponents; it's only useful for defending ourselves. God is our shield. Therefore, God takes the blows delivered by our enemies. There's a certain resonance with the various ideas around Christ and the cross in that image. Finally, we're told that our hope is in God's Word. Perhaps the point here is that the only way we can possibly stand against those who oppose us in by being grounded in God's Word. It is our hope because it promises that all that is in opposition to God and God's people will be defeated. Indeed, we can say that they have been defeated already by Jesus - who is, after all, God's Word made flesh. When you put all this together from a Christian perspective, that's what you come out with. Finally, in spite of the fact that this verse reminds us that there is danger out there, it also reminds us that there's nothing to fear, and so we shouldn't live in fear or allow others to make us afraid. We need only place ourselves in God's care, and trust in God's power. Then - nothing can stand against us!