He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart. Psalms 91:4 NIV
How has my summer been so far? Strangely good. On the one hand, despite our hopes, desires and fervent prayers, the Storm goes on and on. The demons of rage, panic and fear cackle in the thunder, howl in the wind. It is hard to keep my lantern of hope and faith alight. On the other, our mountains bloom in their full summer glory. Streams burble through meadows fat with wildflowers; lakes glisten blue under sapphire skies. So far, at least, we’ve been spared the smoke of recent summers.
God has not given us an answer but a refuge.
So we flock to the mountains eagerly—fishing the streams and rivers, floating the lakes, riding and hiking the trails. We set up our campsites by the roadsides; we fill the campgrounds, our campfires crackling joyfully in the star-spangled darkness.
For years, I longed for a summer without the pressures of travel and company, with ample time to relax and enjoy this beautiful piece of the world we live in. This summer I have it.
Have there been problems? Sure there have; life on this earth is never trouble-free. The losses and limitations of age have even created some new ones, great and small. But our compassionate Father-God has given us the grace and help we’ve needed to resolve them–every single time.
I can’t explain it; I can’t justify it; I know I don’t deserve it. I just “know that I know that I know” His love and His faithfulness are real. He has proved it to me this summer, over and over and over. As the old hymn put it, “All I have needed, Thy hand hath provided/Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me.”
The mountains in their beauty are, indeed, a refuge in this summer of turmoil, but I’m finding His faithfulness to be a greater refuge yet—a shield which protects me and a rampart which lifts me above the Storm.
You, too.
“Yes, we are in a dark time,” writes John Eldredge, “But God is still protecting and comforting me. I am not alone. … Not only that, God has a feast of goodness for me…he fills my life with blessing! … God will always be faithful to me.”
When you’re tempted to doubt that, look for the ways He has blessed you, the times He has provided exactly what you need at exactly the right moment. Then I think you will, like me, stand amazed.
FATHER GOD: How can I thank You? I am, indeed, humbled, and grateful. Amen.
First published in “Bozeman Daily Chronicle,” August 8, 2020.