We are still housebound. The Governor has issued a “Stay at Home” order which is stronger than the “Safer at Home” order given previously.  The COVID-19 has overtaken our world and it has changed our activities on a national/ regional/ and individual basis. We are told that the absence of interaction with others outside the house is the secret to keeping healthy and eradicating the virus that has overtaken the world.  Things that have been routine, such as birthday parties, getting together with church friends for lunch on Sunday afternoon, working at jobs and going to stores, have been cut short. Things that normally would provide the security of routine have been eliminated as we are all staying at home.

When we were at Arches National Park in outside of Moab, Utah and we came across this sight — formations called “Park Avenue and Courthouse Towers”.  They clearly were made over thousands of years as water and wind sculpted the stone.  But they dwarfed the people visiting the site. and they seemed secure.

Another formation was found in the Park and it, too, was the result of centuries of wind and water sculpting its contours, which included a cave-like structure that could have provided respite from the elements.

The permanence of monoliths such as El Capitan in Yosemite National Park give a sense of security, if for no other reason than their size and durability.

Or, staying in our own house, away from possible contamination by a virus that you can’t see except under a microscope, will provide security from the virus, but is that real security?

Scripture tells us much about security.  Take Psalm 15 for example.  It is short, and it is duplicated here for your reference.

A Psalm of David.

O LORD, who shall sojourn in your tent? Who shall dwell on your holy hill?

He who walks blamelessly and does what is right and speaks truth in his heart;  who does not slander with his tongue and does no evil to his neighbor, nor takes up a reproach against his friend;  in whose eyes a vile person is despised, but who honors those who fear the LORD; who swears to his own hurt and does not change;  who does not put out his money at interest and does not take a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things shall never be moved.

Psalm 15:1-5  [ESV]

So, what are we to do to be secure?  Walk blamelessly, do right and speak truth.  Don’t slander with your speech and don’t hurt your neighbor.  Honor and fear the Lord.  Freely look for ways to care for your neighbor, not expecting something to be done for you in return.  Don’t take a bribe so that you will do anything to subvert justice or prosecute the innocent.

Honor God and serve Him and you will not be moved.  You will be secure because you will be in the Lord’s hands.

Matthew Henry says of this psalm’s conclusion:

The psalm concludes with a ratification of this character of the citizen of Zion. He is like Zion-hill itself, which cannot be moved, but abides for ever, Psalm 125:1. Every true living member of the church, like the church itself, is built upon a rock, which the gates of hell cannot prevail against: He that doeth these things shall never be moved; shall not be moved for ever, so the word is. The grace of God shall always be sufficient for him, to preserve him safe and blameless to the heavenly kingdom. Temptations shall not overcome him, troubles shall not overwhelm him, nothing shall rob him of his present peace nor his future bliss.   (Emphasis added)

This Psalm does not relate merely to the Old Testament Israelites.  Rather, it relates to all those who claim the name of Christ as their Redeemer Savior.  The grace of God is sufficient for us, even today, even as we are sequestered in our homes under the government’s “Stay at Home” order.  Discomfort because of inability to see our friends and relatives, unease as we face an Easter at home rather than in communion with our Christian community, concern about finances and whether there is sufficient toilet paper to hold until we can return to normal living.  All these things can rob us of the peace and security that is available in God, if we will only seek Him and allow Him to encourage and assist us fdring these times.

Yes, the formations in Arches National Park took time to become what they are, and in years to come they will likely change.  But for now, they seem secure.  We too have gone through various difficult times in our lives which have formed us into the people that we now are.  Likely, we will change in future years, but we are secure — not in our physical strength or intellectual capabilities, but in the strength that we have through the Lord Jesus Christ.  He is our strength, and He is our Redeemer Savior.  He is our Lord, and He is our Shepherd.  We are the beloved sheep of His pasture, and we are the ones for whom He gave His blood as our atoning sacrifice.  Additionally, He is the one who is interceding for us, this very minute, before God the Father in heaven.  

That is security in its highest and truest form.

Seek Him and honor Him.  Then, as David said in Psalm 15, we will not be moved.

Father, thank You for sending Your Son to be our Savior and Redeemer.  Thank You Lord for living a perfect life which we could not live, and then dying the horrific death on the cross, bearing our sin so that we do not have to carry it, thereby granting us eternal life with You which we would otherwise not be able to have.  Thank You that we are secure in Your love, even amid the COVID-19 pandemic and throughout whatever this world may throw at us.  We are Yours and are secure in Your hands.