God's answer

Today we may find ourselves summoned to a task which we know is quite beyond us. "Me, Lord?" we quaver, "Who am I?" God answers. "I am with YOU."
The Lord of Hosts is with us
The God of Jacob is our refuge.

~Elisabeth Elliot, A Lamp for My Feet

Isn't this amazing? When I cry out to the faceless sky with those big questions - why do I exist, what is my purpose, why am I being tested, what will happen to me? - God has a very simple answer, "I am with you" (Ps. 46:11). I am learning that this statement is what gives life perspective. (Yes, I know, 'perspective' again!) If God is for me, who can be against me? If God is with me, why am I afraid? It reminds me of nights when I was a little child. When you live in the Big Woods of Wisconsin, nights are very black sometimes, as the trees shut out the moon and even the stars. Stormy nights were the worst, when the wind howled through the trees and there was no light to see by. I remember putting my hand in front of my face and it was as if it wasn't even there, my vision was so obscured by the blackness. I would call out to my parents and they would answer, sleepily, "We're right here." Then I could go back to sleep. I couldn't see them, feel them, smell them...but they were there. All it took was their assurance of that fact to convince me of my safety. I need to trust my heavenly Father like that as I walk through this dark night.

I sing this little song to my kids as a lullaby. When Katy was about two, she suddenly became very concerned over the lack of hallways in our home. It took me several weeks to determine what the problem was - she had misheard me, and thought I was singing about the "Hallway of His hand"!

Safe am I,
Safe am I,
In the hollow of His hand.
Sheltered o'er, sheltered o'er,
With His love forevermore
No ill can harm me, No foe alarm me
For He keeps both day and night.

~ Mildred Leightner Dillon, Safe Am I