Friday, January 7, 2022

Psalm 34:19-22

Psalm 34:19-22 

  What does it mean to protect a child into adulthood?
  That child will get hurt at times, right?  It'll suffer, at various points, physical, mental, and emotional pain.  It's part of being alive.  There is no scenario where a child grows for 18 years and doesn't experience pain at some point.
  What does it mean to protect someone's money for the future?  If you're saving for retirement, that means you need to take some risk in the stock market to protect against inflation, and that will inevitably lead to some losses.  Over time, the gains will likely outweigh the losses by quite a bit, but there will be down days.
  So when we read about the Lord delivering people out of afflictions, and how taking refuge in God means that we'll be safe, we should look at it through the same lens -- that there will be momentary pain, and temporary suffering, but this will not last.  Over the long run, we will be saved by God, and eternity is still our home, even if there are times when you wonder why pain has to be part of the process.  Suffering and loss are still languages we must learn, but they are not our heart's true home.

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