A number of years ago I had bitten off more than I could chew as far as my schedule was concerned. Evidence of over commitment was the appearance of irrational anxieties. One area was flying in an airplane. While a common anxiety for many, for me it was a new experience. Feeling unsafe in a plane was a problem. In addition to my role as a fulltime pastor, I would fly about once a month up and down the east coast to do teacher seminars for a publisher. A flight to an upcoming conference left me feeling anxious and dreading what before had been enjoyable. Frankly, I could not get past the feeling that I was not safe in an airplane 30,000 feet from the ground.
My
pride kept me from admitting the problem to the company and I began to look for
ways to get around my anxiety. I drove to as many conferences as possible which
only added to my overtaxed schedule. Then I came upon an idea. Why not take a
train to various conferences since many of the conferences were in cities
serviced by Amtrak? I was pleased with having come up with a solution thereby saving
face and feeling safe.
The first train trip was to a conference
in Boston. The trip to “Beantown” was a wonderful experience. I felt safe and
not the least bit anxious. On the return trip I sank into the train seat
confident that this was a perfect alternative to an airplane flight and
subsequent anxiety. Crossing a bridge into Harlem, NY, changed that
self-assured attitude. The train derailed leaving well shaken passengers inside
the passenger cars. My delusion of safety quickly evaporated that night in a
darkened rail car! Interestingly enough, that was the last time I was anxious
about flying! The Lord graciously reminded me that He could keep me as secure
at 30,000 feet in an airplane as 3 feet off the ground in a rail car.
Often we develop attitudes or embrace
actions that we think will make us safe. The problem is that we do not live in
a safe world. We do not control life. At best we try and adjust to the dangers
that we see in an unsafe world. We wear a seat belt – that is good. But that
does not keep us from being in an accident and being injured. We see government
make laws and policies to try and protect the citizenry – which the Bible says
is their responsibility. But no law will stop a person intent on doing evil
from doing so. Parents take precautions in the way they raise their children –
a God ordained duty. But there are no guarantees that a child will not rebel
and make foolish choices later in life. Even in a perfect environment with a
Divine Parent, Adam and Eve still chose to reject their Heavenly Father’s guidance
and plunged creation into chaos.
So does this mean we should live in
despair? No. An alternative to living in a delusion of safety is to live with
the conviction of security. Safety says we will not encounter dangers, harms,
and adversity. Security says that if we do encounter these possibilities we
know we can endure and even thrive in the face of living in a fallen world.
Three men exemplified this sense of
security in Daniel 3. King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon had mandated worship of an
idol or face the consequence of a horrible death in a fiery furnace. The safe
response of these men would be to comply with the cultural pressure and worship
a golden image thus placating the demands of government. However, Shadrach,
Meshach, and Abednego chose to obey God’s Word rather than a king’s demand.
What they decided was not safe. In their minds they were convinced that they
could be secure even though they were not safe. Therefore they boldly responded
to the king’s command, “Our God whom we serve is able to deliver us… from your
hand, O king. But if not, let it be known… we do not serve your gods”
(3:17-18). That was a secure response not a safe one. They were secure in the
relationship they had with Jehovah God that allowed them to forego the delusion
of safety they could obtain from abandoning their convictions.
The result for these three men was both a
furnace and deliverance. They were placed into the fire but they were secure
and not separated from God. In fact, the biblical account records that even the
King noticed that God was with them (3:25). These men ended up as a testimony
before a king and nation as the “servants of the Most High God” and they “trusted
in Him.” They revealed one could be secure even when things are not safe
(3:26-30).
Do we live in a safe world? Are you
kidding? Devastating diseases, barbaric terrorists, atomic conflagration,
social unrest, financial instability, international chaos, and a hundred other
potential dangers confront us. Yet in all of this we can maintain a conviction
of security. That security does not arise because of our power, wisdom, or
other assets. Our conviction grows out of a person having a relationship with
the Most High God of the universe. Once we are assured we are connected to Him
by faith then we can say with boldness, “If God be for us, who can be against
us?” Paul goes on to say that nothing “shall be able to separate us from the
love of God which is in Christ, Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:31, 37-39).
Life can be lived very differently when we
live beyond the delusion of safety and embrace a conviction of security. "It
is the LORD who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or
forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.” (Deuteronomy 31:8). 
