Reflections on Moses #5 – Security

According to the Council on Foreign Relations’s Global Conflict Tracker, 27 ongoing conflicts are currently taking place globally. They categorize conflict into three groups: worsening, unchanging, and improving. Right now, no conflict is described as improving.

Of those worsening: Conflict in Ukraine. War in Afghanistan. Political instability in Lebanon. War in Yemen. The Rohingya crisis in Myanmar. Conflict in Ethiopia.

Add to these troubles nationally: An uncertain economy. Rising inflation. Increasing violence.

Where can we find security?

For all practical purposes, Moses never had a dwelling place or home. Swept along by the Nile River. Pulled into Pharaoh’s court. Running from the Pharaoh for killing an Egyptian. Hiding out in the desert. Standing against Pharaoh and announcing, “Let my people go.” Crossing the Red Sea and onward to Mount Sinai. Wandering in the desert.

All his life Moses was on the move because of circumstances or God’s call. He couldn’t even look forward to entering the Promised Land.

Moses was a man without a home. But he was not a man without security.

Toward the end of his life, he affirmed, “Lord, you have been our dwelling place throughout all generations” (Psalm 90:1).

Moses learned that the true source of his security was not in the places he lived, nor in the property he owned, nor in the possessions he accumulated. His security, his dwelling place, his home was in God alone.

If a sparrow’s nest is torn down by a storm, the little bird will build it again in the same place. However, if a sparrow’s nest is torn down several times, the bird will seek a new location – a sheltering higher up – where it will be less vulnerable.

We may build our dwelling places of security on the values of this world, only to see them torn down again and again. We might grieve, begin rebuilding again in the same way, without making any significant changes in our lives.

How much better to realize through our disappointments and losses, the Lord is calling us to place our security in him. Setting our sights heavenward. Finding our security in the highest branches of life – in God alone.

~ Pastor Dave