Random Verse - Psalm 16:1

Keep me safe, my God, for in you I take refuge.
- Psalm 16:1 

Every day, terrible things happen.  People die in car crashes or from cancer.  Families and marriages crumble due to the sinful actions of one.  We cannot know what tomorrow will bring.  Perhaps we will be the victims of some horrible event.  Whether purposeful, accidental, or natural, there are many things in the world that can cause us harm.  What are we to do about it?

In a word, we need to trust.  For those of us who call upon the name of the Lord, God is our refuge.  He is our stronghold.  He is the one who will keep us safe.  It would be easy to get tripped up on this point, as it depends on your definition of safe.  Yes, sometimes God will save you from a terrible situation.  Sometimes God miraculously cures that cancer or prevents that drunk driver from barreling into you.  Sometimes God stands in the way of the world and keeps you safe from its dangers.

But what about when He doesn't?

The greatest trust is not nearly to believe that God will keep you safe in this world.  God has never promised us that bad things won't happen.  He's never said that we won't have pain or suffering or have our lives cut short.  Every day we live in this world is a gift from God that we should not waste.  Yes, we should pray that God will keep us safe in the world.  We should pray for healing and rejoice when it comes.  That, however, is not the great safety that God promises us.  The truth is that each of us will, someday, die.  It is an inevitability of life.  When that comes, is it God no longer keeping us safe?  Is He no longer our refuge?  Of course He is.  The greatest trust is to know that no matter what happens to us in this world, no matter what pain we go through, and no matter how many years we are given to live on Earth, that God has our souls in His hand.  God's primary goal is not to merely keep us safe for our lives in this world, that are here today but gone tomorrow.  His primary goal is to welcome us into His kingdom to be with him for eternity.  I do not fear the world or the oncoming death, for I know that God is holding me in his hands.  He is my refuge, and He will keep me safe, forever and ever.