My dad was a WWII veteran. He didn’t talk too much about the action he saw, but occasionally he’d let a little something out, and my brother and i were always fascinated. One little story i remember him telling about was concerning the constant feeling of vulnerability and danger, the ever-nagging feeling none of them were safe, even when in a port, they still felt beyond safety’s borders. He told us about, during one engagement, he watched other ships getting torpedoed and bombed, then sinking into the deep in a plume of smoke and fire, yet somehow the ship he was on slipped through the bullets, bombs, and torpedoes. He told us about picking up survivors from destroyed ships out of the ocean, alive and dead, and sometimes even watching men disappear into the jaws of unbelievably large sharks. He said a couple of times they even had to abandon the rescue efforts in order to survive being destroyed themselves. His next words have always stuck in my mind, he said, when pulling the rescued sailors from the water, they all wanted to go home, they just wanted to go home. Why home i wondered, and you’ve gotta remember that most young people can’t seem to wait to leave home, so that wasn’t an unusual question.
Later in life, having suffered many things myself, i have found that at life’s most terrible times, when things seemed at their worst, i too just wanted to go home. Lately, i believe the Lord has answered my question “What is it at home so much so that it’s the only thing on our minds when things are bad?” The Lord says it’s largely because it is the place in our minds and hearts that represents the safest place we know. Home was a safe place for many of us… yet others, well, not so safe at all. Either way, all people, in their heart of hearts, have a need for safe places, places of sanctuary, but sadly those places are getting harder and harder to find.
And i suppose i should add, there are those who are politically motivated who create safe places which exclusively cater to people with an overwhelming victim mentality in order to advance their personal agenda of gaining power and control. It seems they can’t control people who have their heads and hearts on straight, so they prey on those who seem to be trapped in their iniquity and transgression, who live in a vacuum void of God’s wisdom.
i’m Social Porter and thank you for joining me here at Outposts, a semi-live broadcast from the cascading banks of the Ockluhwahhah River, where the trees gently lean over the river’s edge, and every evening is pleasant.
Is your home a safe place? Within our relationships with friends and family, our government, or our jobs, is there any safety in them, or are we always on guard, having to watch what we say, how much we tell, having thoughts of wanting to just run away to the desert or deep woods where no one knows us, our life, or our name? Safe places? Are they really safe, and is there really safety to be had anywhere in this world beyond the sanctuary of the covering of Jesus Christ?
In 1 Kings 1, we see King David in his last days, he’s old, and fading fast. There has been a contender for the throne, the fourth son of David, named Adonijah who was, before David had even died, arrogantly and presumptuously telling everyone he was the new king, lying and manipulating, putting words in the mouth of the king saying that David had ordained his ascension to the throne. Of course, David wasn’t about to allow that, so he had Solomon anointed and crowned king, blowing the horn so all would know a successor to David’s throne had been crowned. Adonijah, a rotten and treacherous fellow in his own right, realized he was in jeopardy of being slain by Solomon, so he ran quickly to the temple, grabbed the horns of the altar, and said to Solomon, “Swear to me you will not kill me!” Solomon let him live and sent him home.
The temple was considered a place of sanctuary, and the altar of the temple was considered a thing of sanctuary, it can be a consecrated place or thing. It was a safe place, Adonijah knew it, and made a straight line for the safest place he knew, grabbing the horns of the altar, and crying out for sanctuary.
Safe places are supposed to represent a point or region of refuge. In our society, we have safe places for battered women, children, and even for entire families out of necessity because their very basic refuge, their residence, is no longer safe for them. Sadly we also have safe places, if you can call them that, which are merely safe havens for those who are looking for a safe place to sin in peace, out of the reach of justice, out of the sight of honesty, out of the reach of accountability, out of the view of transparency, and wishfully, out of the sight of God.
For many, many years churches represented safe places, places of sanctuary. In history, the church and the altar of the church were considered holy, offering a form of protection beyond governmental authority, sometimes even for political dissidents or immigrants facing deportation. The safe place the church represented was where desperate people could get safety, food, clothing, and shelter. i need to also add, and this is important, sanctuary was never allowed for those of treacherous, and murderous actions. The Lord nor the law of the land ever allowed sin of any sort to be given sanctuary, under any circumstances.
In this day and age, in our nation, safe places are getting more and more difficult to find. Home isn’t a safe place for many anymore; it seems law enforcement has no problem invading even our most basic sanctuaries and homes. Now, don’t get me wrong, a lot of times it’s for very good reasons, but sometimes times not. Even criminals have taken to breaking into places our society once saw as a safe place. i believe, we as a nation don’t feel safe, we don’t trust our friends, the words of our neighbor, the actions of businesses and government, or even other believers.
Refuge is associated with trust, for without trust, refuge is not held as safety. When safety is violated, among other things set in motion, we end up feeling betrayed, and betrayal kills trust in its tracks. Are our friends safe with us, or are we backbiters, telling the secrets of others for personal gain? In Genesis 9, Noah was naked and drunk. Gen 9:22 says, “And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brothers outside.” It was bad that Noah was naked and drunk, but it was worse that Ham pointed it out. Ham betrayed Noah’s trust putting Noah forever on guard. The relationship Noah thought was safe, was exposed as not safe. Do you get what i’m saying?
If you think i’m being negative or harsh, do the footwork, go ask people on the street, and let us compare notes on that. We all seem to feel so vulnerable, and in danger on every corner, and i think it is shaking us to our knees.
My most basic safe place is my home, not just my house, but my home, and our home is our shalom place, edge to edge, under God’s exclusive care. To my wife and i, it is our place of sanctuary and we defend the sanctity of our home with all power; it is where we live in honor and peace. Our sanctuary is a sacred and protected place, a refuge and retreat from our everyday work-a-day world and obligations. Do you have a shalom place?
Safe places are where we regenerate, it’s our private space where familial bonds are based and strengthened. Our need for a safe place impacts everything we do.
In 1943, Abraham Maslow wrote a paper titled, “A Theory of Human Motivation”. Maslow stated that aside from air, food, water, clothing, and shelter, physical needs being first, safety was the second greatest need for human beings.
But i must add, it seems to me our need for safety is very high, but yet our ability to be safe and feel safe is increasingly elusive.
For those involved in any bombings or shootings, learning to feel safe again will take time. Many of the people directly impacted may never again go to a movie theater, to market, or even to church and feel totally safe. They’ll probably always harbor some fear and apprehension because their sense of safety has been seriously and forever compromised. Consider those who have been the victims of violent crime. Do you think they’ll probably be a long time coming before they feel safe again, even in the sanctity of their homes? Some people have been so violated, over and over, i wonder, how you even get past those memories unless God is directly involved.
How many shows on television are always about someone involved in some violence? It seems that any place there is the potential for drama, that is where Hollywood gets its storylines – the emergency room, police stations, courtrooms, war rooms, addiction and crisis centers, wild animal control, drug wars, and even governmental wars….and how many of those crime shows, every week portray some violent criminal with no conscience, sneaking into some random person’s house and robbing or killing them? And how many of those with violence launched against them on those shows seem to always be women and children? Over and over and over until it’s embedded in our heads that we are not safe, even in our homes. i believe, eventually, everyone who watches shows like that begins to be afraid of virtually everything, they feel vulnerable and in danger all the time, paranoia rises, trust fails, the truth is elusive, and as a whole, we begin to feel completely unsafe. Not safe in our homes, our jobs, our relationships, or even with exposing our feelings. Without any real safety in people’s lives, they end up running away from imaginary terror, hands in the air in fear, pursued by no one.
It almost sounds like Job in Job 3:25-26, “For the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me, and that which I was afraid of is come unto me. I was not in safety, neither had I a moment to recover, neither was I settled in my heart; yet trouble came.”
Is there any place in this world where anyone can be really and truly safe? What is God’s idea of safety, refuge, or sanctuary? There is only one safe place i know of and that is seen in Psalm 61:4, “I will abide in Your tabernacle forever; I will trust in the shelter of Your wings.”
There is no place safe in this world without Jesus as an ultimate defender and Counselor, the ultimate and only true hope. Jesus IS our safety.
This needs to be said though ….. yes, Christ is hope and salvation to a dying world, a refuge for the wounded and weary, but sanctuary and refuge was and never will be given to sin.
In 1Kings2, we read about Joab who was a murderous, unrepentant, and treacherous fellow. When Solomon set his sights on justice concerning Joab, Joab tried to do what Adonijah did….he ran quickly grabbed the horns of the altar, and begged sanctuary. He figured if it worked for Adonijah, then it would work for him too! But Solomon had been taught by his father in the ways of the Lord and knew murder, treachery, and sin is never, ever given sanctuary. Joab declared he would die at the altar, so Solomon obliged him, had him slain at the altar, and buried him in his wilderness home with only the honor of a soldier.
The Lord is a safe refuge for anyone in need of safety. God’s idea of safety is seen in dissecting the word for the deeper meaning. Safety and refuge under the covering of the Lord means the weary will find, in the Mighty One, power, strength, and protection. God’s idea of safety means the Blood of the Holy One protects those who return.
Matthew 11:28, “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” With Jesus as our refuge and safety, there comes the security that God has your back, and in Him, there is much-needed rest to restore strength, hope, and courage. In fact, in Job 5:4 the word used for safety is a Hebrew word that translates as liberty, and deliverance. With God’s safety COMES liberty and deliverance.
In a world of little to no safety, Jesus alone is our shelter, Jesus alone clothes us with His goodness, Christ alone is our path and safety. John 16:33, “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have trouble; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” Friends, Jesus is our safety.
Psalm 62:7, “In God is my salvation and my glory; The rock of my strength, And my refuge, is in God.” The word salvation in that scripture is the root word for Yeshua, the Christ of God. It is the same word used in Job 5:4 and the translators interpreted it as “safety”. The Lord is our only help and sanctuary, and no kings, princes, presidents, no bureaucrats, or politicians on this earth, not any flesh and blood can ever offer us any long-standing safety. Psalm 146:3, “Do not put your trust in princes, Nor a man, in whom there is no safety.”
How often have we, as a nation, put our trust in our government to deliver us from poverty, criminal activity, fear, and desolation, yet over and over, man’s ability to make himself safe in the long run just doesn’t work out very well?
Proverbs 14:26, “In the fear of the LORD there is strong confidence, And His children will have a place of refuge.”
Over time and through much trouble, i have consistently seen the Lord as my refuge and sanctuary, especially when the promises of sanctuary from men were a vacuum. When i have been cornered by hell, the Lord opened a way for me and gave me shelter and deliverance. i am a witness. i have seen it and lived it. The Lord is truly my shepherd and my best friend, I lack for nothing and always have more than enough. He offers me a resting place in grassy pastures to lounge in His luxurious love, he leads me by quiet water, an oasis of peace where he restores my soul and revives my life. He guides me in right paths for the sake of his own name. Even if I pass through death-dark ravines, I will fear no disaster; for you are with me; Your Authority is my strength and my peace. The comfort of your love takes away my fear.
I’ll never be lonely, for Lord, you are near. You prepare a table for me, even as my enemies watch; you anoint me with the fragrance of your Holy Spirit; you give me all I can drink of you until my heart overflows. So why would I fear the future? For your goodness and love pursue me all the days of my life. Then afterward, when my life is through, I’ll return to your glorious presence to be forever with you!”
It is my heart’s desire that everyone and anyone who hears the gospel of Christ will find safety for themselves. We all need a safe place. The Lord offers the promise of refuge to all who would call on His name. The Lord alone is our safe place and leads us in the paths of righteousness. Think about it.
Isaiah 25:4, “For You have been a strength to the poor, A strength to the needy in his distress, A refuge from the storm, A shade from the heat;”
The Blood of the Holy One, Jesus, protects those who return, and they will find in Him power, strength, and protection.”
i’m Social Porter and this has been Outposts, cool jazz, and contemplative conversation given with the hopes all who listen will look past the surface of their own presentation face. Be honest, accountable, and transparent. The Lord is with you if you’ll just surrender and allow Him to love you.
There is no safety except in Christ, and Christ alone. We all need a place where we feel safe, but increasingly in the world we live, safety has become elusive. i believe with all my heart, and i hope you also may confidently trust God with your safety….if the Lord is your guide, he will also be your guard.
Drive carefully this week, pray for your neighbor. Take your time and consider the ways of the Lord with all your heart, and i’ll talk to you next time.