True Security

True Security

The LORD is your security. He will keep your foot from being caught in a trap. Proverbs 3:26

CONCEPTUALLY, WE DON’T HESITATE to place our security in the Lord. Emotionally, we find lots of other forces at work. We trust God but buy plenty of insurance and alarm systems. We pray in faith but guard our hearts against disappointment. And we sometimes hedge our bets with fallback applications, opportunities, and, for some people, even relationships. There may be nothing wrong with some of those positions; sometimes insurance plans, alarm systems, and secondary applications are part of God’s provision for us. But mentally, where are we really placing our trust? The lines between God as our security and people, resources, and things as our security can get pretty blurred.

Our hearts give us good indications, though. When you place faith in circumstances—when you attribute power to chance, possible dangers, unfortunate accidents, or malicious threats—you have every reason to be unsettled. Your mind will tell you that anything can happen, good things happen to bad people, and God may not be in control. But when you place your faith in God as your security, you find yourself at rest. You can lie down and sleep soundly (Proverbs 3:24). You can be confident that whatever happens, God is overseeing it and working out everything for your good. When he is your security, the burden of your well-being is on him.

Be diligent about attributing power to God not only at a head level but also at a heart level. There’s no need to abandon all sources of human security plans, but learn to see them—and make decisions about them—in the context of God’s sovereign, zealous concern for you and the things you care about. Your prayer life should serve as a consistent, repeated statement of shifting your trust from the things of the world and the rationalizations of the heart to the doting provision and protection of your Father. He is your first recourse for safety and security; everything else falls in place at his direction. Your life, your family, and all of your concerns are solidly and completely in his hands.

The saints in heaven are happier but no more secure than are true believers here in this world.