Getting Back to Base

[If you prefer to watch rather than read go to https://youtu.be/_R3-DkfA6Do]

When I was little (and sometimes today with my boys) I remember playing tag! One of the things you always do is pick a “base” or a “safe zone” where you could go and the person who was “it” couldn’t tag you. The base was a place to rest in safety where you could get your energy back before you ran back out into the fray – where the “it” person wasn’t allowed to enter. 

A few weeks ago, our staff and elders and their spouses joined for a night of worship, prayer, and reading of scripture. During that time, we read from Psalms 46. Here are a few excerpts:

Psalms 46:1,

“God is our refuge and strength,”

God is our “base”. He is the place we find our shelter in – the well from which we gain our strength. The greatest difference being we don’t ever have to leave this “base” this Refuge. In the words of a dear friend of mine, “Our base goes with us everywhere we go.” We can stay in Him constantly and forever – but we must choose to enter His shelter constantly! 

I love the line “a very presenthelp in trouble.”God is with you every moment of every day! Right here right now – verypresent. That is so thrilling that Paul says in Philippians 2 that we ought to work out our own salvation with “fear and trembling” because God Himself is at work within us. 

So, let’s review: God is our refuge and He is very present in our time of trouble. How should this affect us?

Psalms 46:2-3
“² Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way,
    though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea,
³ though its waters roar and foam,
    though the mountains tremble at its swelling.”

There is nothing to fear – why? Because there is nothing scarier on this earth than God and He is on yourside. It is a wonderful thing to ask God to intervene and defeat the coronavirus and protect everyone and make it all go away. 

But remember, even if He doesn’t protect us physically He already has overcome the world. The victory is already won. 

How do we make His victory our own? because He offers it to us. How do we enter the fortress that is God?

Psalms 46:10,

“Be still, and know that I am God.”

You mustintentionally discipline yourself every dayto be still – put out all distractions, worries, fears, temptations and remember this one life-changing (if you really believe it) truth: He is God and you are not!

Who is God?The one who created everything out of nothing, the One who is so mighty that man cannot look on Him and live (Exodus 33:20), the One before whom mountains melt like wax (Psalm 97:5), and the One who literally is love(1 John 4:8). That Godis your fortress if you come to Him. 

You need to be still and know that whether there is a coronavirus or not!

This is an unsettling time church, I know it! We live in a country where we are used to instant access to our wants and needs, where we are free to do what we want when we want, and where we rely heavily on our government for protection. Right now, all of those things are proving unreliable. Now I believe all of these social distancing steps are being taken out of prevention rather than panic. I believe we are slowing down the spread so various organizations can create the treatment and equipment that are needed and we will eventually return to normalcy.

But in any case, this ought to be a good reminder that there is only one Refuge, only one true Strength, only one Salvation and it is not our government, nor doctors, nor treatments, nor each other. God is our Salvation! Maybe today you need to return to your base, stop running away from things and take Refuge in the Lord – do this by meditating on the words of  

Psalms 46:10-11,

“Be still, and know that I am God.
    I will be exalted among the nations,
    I will be exalted in the earth!”
¹¹ The Lord of hosts is with us;
    the God of Jacob is our fortress.