Certain Of One Thing

 

Psalm 91

He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High, shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.

I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and fortress; my God in Him I will trust......He will cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you shall take refuge;

His truth shall be your shield and buckler. You shall not be afraid of the terror by night.

In "The Hiding Place", written by Corrie Ten Boom, (please read this book if you haven't) she recounts the night before she and thirty five family members and friends were sent to prison for helping the needy during World War Two.

After being rounded up and spending the night awaiting what was to come, Papa spoke to the group from Psalm 91 and prayed with them all. 

The next morning as she left for prison she passed in front of her precious, godly, elderly Papa. 

His last softly spoken words to her were, "The Lord be with you my daughter."

 Papa would be with the Lord in ten days. 

He was offered freedom if he promised to go home and not help the needy again. He said to the officer who offered this freedom that if he were set free his door would always be open to anyone in need. 

He would not betray Jesus. 

Papa would soon pay for his faith with his life.

Corrie spent months in solitary confinement in a lonely prison cell.

 She found comfort in remembering her last memories with Papa...." In my loneliness I would recall the last night I shared with my elderly Father when He shared Psalm 91 and prayed with all of us. I remember the words 'He will cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you shall take refuge; His truth shall be your shield and buckler.' I would close my eyes in my prison cell and visualize that protection and with that thought in mind I could close my eyes and fall asleep. From the last moment with Papa everything in our lives changed. We did not know all that lay ahead of us, but we were certain of one thing....Jesus would never leave us or forsake us and that for a child of God there was no pit so deep that Jesus was not deeper still."

The Ten Boom family...

With all that is swirling and whirling around us, I feel as many people feel.......I simply have no words. 

 I'm speechless really.

This is why I'm sharing the Ten Boom family story. 

They have walked through a season of life that I haven't experienced, but am concerned might be a reality one day.

We might have to choose between comfort and paying a high cost for speaking, living and believing Truth.

I've spent some days alone pondering this.

My answer is ...Yes, and Amen.....I made my choice years ago. I will follow where He leads. In His strength I choose whatever path that may take. I trust the Holy Spirit to give me strength to the very end, no matter what that end may be.

I think one thing that disturbs my heart most right now is the lies people live in today.

Lies have often frightened me. I lived under many lies as a child and an adult. Trying to decipher lies from truth baffled me and tore my heart apart.

 Lies keep one from knowing truth and without truth one cannot function in the light. One becomes lost in a maze of confusion and disorder.

I've always sought to live in truth. Truth makes life uncomplicated. I like people to give it to me straight. As soon as I realize that someone around me is a liar or manipulator I seek to remove myself as quickly as possible from spending any more time in their company.

When I recognize the lies and deception our country has lived in my heart is truly and deeply broken.

I can only imagine the Lord's heart as He looks at man today.  It literally makes me weep along with Him.

Many people have judged me for speaking truth in love into their lives because they live lives of hidden lies and manipulation.

Those who deceive and live in lies are always fearful. Always.

They fear truth exposing the hidden and dark corners of their lives.

They don't realize that living in truth brings peace. Yes....it costs something to uncover our hidden and dark places. Yet, once we come clean and are willing to live in the light of God's forgiveness we can heal. We can sleep. We can smile again.

Dear readers.....please examine your lives. Don't delay coming fully clean with Christ. He has paid the price to forgive any sin. 

We need to choose wisely how we live.

We don't have all the time in the world.

When we stop living in and believing lies, we find rest and peace.

As Psalm 91 says His truth shall be your shield. Truth heals the heart. Truth heals our relationship with our Savior.