“Keep me safe, my God,
for in you I take refuge.
I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord;
apart from you I have no good thing.”
-Psalm 16:1,2
Day by day we have received many directives from state and federal authorities on how to keep ourselves and our neighbors safe from the spreading virus: Hand washing, face masks, social distancing, and stay at home orders.
But all of those precautions only serve to slow the spread of the virus. Still the virus spreads. People get sick, and people die. There is still no vaccine, no drug proven to defeat the virus. All of man’s best efforts cannot cure the sickness or end the pandemic. That’s not to disparage the heroic efforts of doctors, nurses, and first responders. Selfless heroes, putting themselves in harm’s way every day, they are doing the best they can with what they have available to help and comfort those who are suffering.
Yet in the end, our real refuge, our only refuge, is God. “Keep me safe, my God, for in you I take refuge.” He is the one who has the power to defeat this disease. He hears our prayers, and he wants only good things for us. “You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing.” Look around at the good things you have today. They are all from the Lord. When you are fearful or anxious, take refuge in him, and treasure that little prayer taught to us by King David, “Keep me safe, my God, for in you I take refuge.” You are eternally safe in God. Amen
-Pastor Anderson