“Lights on for safety.” “Make sure that safety (on the gun) is on.” Safety training in my Navy days, seemingly every week. “Let’s get back to making music.” Money-wise, it’s a safety net, or a “golden parachute.” We need to feel safe in life, for our financial and physical well-being. We are all practicing, or at least trying to, safety protocols during this long siege of the coronavirus pandemic. I really didn’t, want to, nor will I, make this blog about the only thing that seems to be on our minds lately.

We all have places of safety. Our homes would be number one. The physical space where we find comfort, peace, security, refreshment. How blessed we are to have nice places to live! Some are tidy, some are “spartan”, some big, some small. We have safety in the protection and vigilance of law enforcement. Safety features in our cars we never could have imagined even five years ago. So why then should we ever feel isolated, discouraged, and unsatisfied? Maybe it’s because we lose sight of the big picture: God.

Coming home really means finding peace with God. Our Father’s heart is discovered in our prayers. It is there that we belong, our safe space. The God who is consoling and gracious. He extends constant, open invitation to dwell with Him. He is the “end game”, promising to help us endure anything and everything. Putting faith in any other form of man-made safety is purely temporary, and ultimately folly. It is only with God at the center of our homes and families that we will find true safety. We will be more open, joyous, reconciled and productive. You who are believers and belong to Christ know how true this is. There is only emptiness and fear when we live without Him. The world can be harsh, cruel, evil. Relationships, unless they are grounded in Christ Jesus, are prone to brokenness. Be sure to be clothed in the right “safety gear” – goggles to help you see and extend grace and kindness; a vest so that others may see the fruits of your prayers lived out in deeds of service; shoes so that you do not slip and trip along the journey; the helmet of righteousness; and the blanket that enfolds you in God’s amazing, unconditional love.

Be well and at peace, dear ones.

Pastor Art