Dear Readers and Listeners, Friends in Jesus Christ,
Our watchword for today is taken from the Second Book of Samuel Chapter 22 verse 3, “The Lord is my stronghold and my refuge, my saviour; you save me from violence,” (NRSVB). The words of this song, quoted in our watchword, are attributed to David. He was saved by the mighty hand of God, following King Saul and his army’s attacks on David. “For the waves of death enveloped me; the torrents of destruction made me afraid,” we read in verse 5, but then we read the “heavenly however.” David wrote, “You have girded me with strength for the battle; those who rose up against me You subdued,” verse 40, (Amplified Bible). God’s “heavenly howevers” intervene exactly at the precise time when all hope is dead, when one stares calamity down, preparing for the worst; then the breakthrough comes, and the situation is turned around dramatically. David marvelled at this saving grace of God, acting with the strategy and planning of the Master Commander. God is the God-of-the-Angel-Armies, as described by Eugene Peterson in the Message. David experienced God turning the battle around, giving victory to him and his small army. All the odds were against them and their power and spirits were low. It was at this low point, when they could not rely on their own power but only on God’s power, that God gave them superhuman strength and the courage to win the victory. The violence of death that David and his army feared was averted. They experienced being alive and victorious for “the battle is the Lord’s!” When we are at our lowest point, when our allies have left and our own resources and strength have died, then God’s work is shown mightily and his deliverance is magnificently accomplished on our behalf.
The Apostle Paul was not stranger to fearing and experiencing violent attacks on his life for the sake of the Gospel. He went through agonizing ordeals and was left for dead upon occasion by his enemies, but God came through for Paul and gave him His supernatural, vivifying power. The Spirit sustained Paul and revived him to fulfil his assigned calling, preaching the Good News. From Jerusalem to Rome, through sea and land voyages, through onslaughts, persecutions, house arrests and jail-sentences, Paul was convinced of God’s guiding and guarding love and presence. Paul was so assured of God’s “heavenly howevers” that he wrote, “(However) I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord,” Romans 8 verse 38 to 39, (NRSVB).
In these times, when fear and uncertainty have gripped the world, and outcomes seem to tarry and wait, we can be assured that God-of-the-angel-armies is working on our behalf. He is the creator God who knows the infinite macroscopic structures of the tiniest atom and cell, as well as the structure and workings of the vast unmeasured and unknown universe. This God is our God, who comes to us in our most fearful moments and says, “Don’t be afraid, it is I! I will calm this storm and you will experience my deliverance,” Matthew 14 verse 27, (Amplified Bible). God said to Moses from the burning bush, “I am, do not be afraid,” Exodus 3 verse 14. Jesus says to us, “I am!” Jesus represents all that God is, and God is love. We are enveloped in this love of God, and protected from all that can separate us from him. We can rest in his love and believe in this great love for us. He laid down his life so that we can live life under the new commandment of love, (John 13 verse 34). This is the love that seeks us, the love that will never leave us.
Father, we thank you that we will never be separated from your love for us, Amen.