SECURE IN HIS HAND
Security Breach
Three
killed. 176 injured. Hundreds of thousands affected. At 2:50pm last Monday afternoon, two bombs
were detonated near the finish line of the Boston Marathon. And it created instant chaos. Because the security of both runners and
spectators had been breached. The safety
of American citizens was in question.
And the confidence of millions of people was shaken. And although the men who were responsible for
this attack have been killed or apprehended, there are many people who still
don’t feel as safe and secure as they once did.
So next year when the Boston Marathon is held once again, do you think
that there will be extra security for that event? You can count on it. Next year do you think that there will be
less spectators standing next to the finish line to watch the race in
person? Undoubtedly. Next year do you think that those who
actually do participate in the race will be a little more paranoid about what
could happen again? Probably. And you can bet that steps will be taken by
race officials to reassure both runners and spectators that everything is safe
and they don’t have to be afraid.
But we’ve
gotten used to extra measures being taken for the good of the safety and
security of people in this country, haven’t we?
When you go to the airport the TSA has one job: to make sure that no bombs,
no weapons, and no terrorists end up on an American flight ever again. And in order to carry out that goal, every
bag is x-rayed; every shoe is inspected; every person is monitored. But that doesn’t mean that air travel is
completely secure, does it? Because people
still slip through, items still go undetected, incidents still occur. And when they do the confidence of an entire
nation is shaken once again.
That’s
true on a personal level too. You can
lock the doors of your car, but someone could still break in. You can have a security system on your house,
but that doesn’t guarantee robbers will always be kept out. You can chain up a bike, password protect an
online account, or place valuable items in a safe; but none of these attempts
at security is able to supply you with complete confidence that nothing bad
will happen. Because bad things do
happen, don’t they! We live in a
sin-filled world where there is no escaping the awful and the terrible and the
horrific. We are vulnerable. Whether you want to think about it or not:
you are vulnerable. But bombs and
break-ins and catastrophes are not what you have to worry about the most; there
is a much nastier enemy that attacks you from within.
We Are Vulnerable
You may
be able to avoid disasters for a while.
You may be able to protect yourself from dangers from time to time. You may even be able to safeguard yourself
from various sicknesses. But even if you
can do those things, you cannot defend yourself against yourself. You are vulnerable
to that wicked inner disposition called your sinful nature. You were born with it and you will never be
able to get rid of it for as long as you live on this earth. It is that corrupted character, that
sin-laced personality that we received from our parents and from their parents
before them and from their parents before them.
It eats away at good intentions and infects attitudes and contaminates
thoughts. It is sin in its most basic
form and it permeates everything we do. And
not only are we vulnerable to this enemy - sometimes we don’t mind!
Sometimes
we allow our sinful nature to take over!
We open the door and let it take the lead! We welcome it into our lives because sin is
fun or exciting or easy or a release.
And it’s oh, so natural, isn’t it?
It’s so natural to give in.
Sometimes you don’t even realize it.
You just do it or say it or think it and, before you know it, you have gone
against the Word of your Lord once again.
Now you may honestly want to do better at times. As a Christian, you may honestly attempt to
avoid doing what you’re not supposed to do. But inevitably the attacks break through and
the assaults break down and your determination wears thin and your resolve
wears out. And we cannot hold sin
back. We cannot keep our sinful nature
at bay. Our vulnerability is exposed time
and time again. Our spiritual security
is breached. And any confidence we have
in ourselves is shaken to its very core because we know that we cannot do what
we’re supposed to do or control what we are supposed to control. We are weak and we are feeble and we are
incapable. We are a lot like sheep in a
way.
We Are Secure
in Our Shepherd’s Hand
Domesticated
sheep are weak and feeble and incapable.
But most of all, they are vulnerable.
They do not have sharp teeth to fend off an attack. They do not have claws to use in
defense. They do not have wings to fly
away, strong legs to run away, or hands and feet to climb away. And they don’t have a whole lot of common
sense to find a way to protect themselves either. They must completely rely on the one who
watches over them. They are totally at
the mercy of their Shepherd.
So it is
no surprise that throughout Scripture we are compared to the sheep and Jesus is
compared to our Shepherd. Because he is
the one who watches over us and we are at his mercy. We need our Shepherd; we are dependent on our
Shepherd; we would be lost without our Shepherd. And so this is what our Good Shepherd says, “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them,
and they follow me. I give them
eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my
hand.” We are vulnerable on our own,
but we are safe in the hands of our Shepherd.
We are weak on our own, but we are protected in the hands of our
Shepherd. We are defenseless on our own against
the attacks of sin and Satan and the disasters of this world, but we are secure
in the hands of our Shepherd. In his
hands we can rest easy. In his hands we
can breathe a sigh of relief. In his
hands we cannot be touched. Because
think about what Jesus did with those very hands he now holds you in:
With
those hands he healed the sick. With
those hands he held the children. With
those hands he touched eyes and ears and skin and made them whole again. With those hands he prayed for you. With those hands he poured out his blood for
you. With those hands he folded up the
burial cloth and set it aside when he rose from the tomb. The hands of our Good Shepherd have won our
salvation - and there are the holes to prove it! And he holds you in those same blood-stained
hands as we speak. He wraps you tight
against him like a child with his teddy bear and never lets you go. And according to his own promise: no one will
be able to snatch you out of his hand. No one.
He is loving enough to make that claim and powerful enough to keep
it. He will give you eternal life, you
will never be destroyed, because your Shepherd says so. And if your Shepherd says something, you know
it will be true.
We Can Live in
Complete Confidence
From a
very early age all three of our kids each found one blanket that they liked the
most. They had plenty of blankets to
choose from, but each one of them gravitated toward a specific blanket that
they liked better than the rest. They
have slept with those blankets almost every single night of their lives. They have cuddled with those blankets, wiped
their noses on those blankets, and have carried those blankets with them for
years. Whenever they would get hurt,
their blanket was one of the first things they wanted. Whenever they would get sick, their blanket
was right there by their side. Whenever
they were tired, their blanket was instantly in their hands or under their
heads. In fact, all three of those
blankets are still in use today. It’s
what people call a “security blanket.”
It gives them comfort and helps them calm down and allows them to sleep. For other children they might find their
security in a stuffed animal or a pillow or another special item in their
room. For most children it is also their
parents.
When the
preschoolers arrive on Tuesday and Thursday mornings or when other kids arrive
with their parents on Friday mornings for Mostly Music, I’ll say hi to the kids
if I’m in the room. And especially if
the kids don’t know me that well they’ll hide behind their parents’ legs or
they’ll grab their parents’ hands or they might even try to climb up into their
parents’ arms. There’s security there in
the arms of a parent. There’s safety and
comfort there when holding a parent’s hand or hiding behind their legs. Because a child knows that is where he or she
is safe. That is where everything is
going to be alright.
There
will be times in your life when things get scary. There will be times in your life when things
get out of control and you don’t know what to do. There will be times in your life when
temptations get the best of you and your sinful nature overpowers you. Where will your security blanket be at times
like those? What will be your stuffed
animal or favorite pillow? Whose legs
will you hide behind? Whose arms will you
climb into? Whose hand will hold?
Your
spouse may be able to comfort you a little bit, your children might be able to
offer some support at times, your own abilities and determination might be able
to take the edge off, but the only real security you have is in the hand of
your Shepherd. He is the only one who
can tame the scary. He is the only one
who can control the chaos. He is the
only one who can and already has conquered the temptations and the sinful
nature that nag you ever day. The hand
of your Good Shepherd is the only one who can keep you safe.
So don’t
wander too far away from him! Don’t
venture out on your own! And when you do
realize that there is a little too much distance between you and your Shepherd,
get back by his side as quickly as possible!
And that means getting back into the Bible. Reading it, studying it, listening to it,
singing it, praying it. Because that is
where your Shepherd is: in his Word.
That is how he comforts you, that is how he protects you, that is how he
holds you in his hands. And that is
where he wants you when things get ugly.
Where
will you be when things get ugly? Where
will you be when the next bomb goes off in this country? Where will you be when the next attack
comes? Where will you be when your life
is in danger? You don’t know exactly where
you’ll be, do you? Because you don’t
know when something like that is going to occur or why it will happen or
where. But you do know this: no matter
what bomb, no matter what attack, no matter what danger lies ahead of you in
this life and no matter where you will be, you will be securely in the hand of
your Shepherd. Because he is holding you
in his hand right now. He will give you
eternal life and you will never perish.
And no one will be able to snatch you out of his hand. You can live this life in confidence. You do not have to be afraid. Because safely in the hand of your Shepherd,
you cannot be touched. Safely in the
hand of your Good Shepherd, everything is going to be alright.
Amen.
“May the Lord of
peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way.” - 2 Thess. 3:16
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