Secure

Throughout the Psalms, there is the theme of God being our refuge.  King David was threatened by
his son, Absalom, and wrote these words in Psalm 3:
(1) Lord, how they have increased who trouble me! Many are they who rise up against me.
2 Many are they who say of me, "There is no help for him in God." Selah
3 But You, O Lord, are a shield for me, My glory and the One who lifts up my head.

When we are facing fear in our lives, we can be encouraged to look to God who is our source of strength and protection; He is indeed with us and will grant us His peace that passes all understanding. Even though there are dangers in this world, we can look to Him for our security.  We can build our lives on His foundation and be anchored in His truth.  As we call upon Him, even in our fear, we can rely on the Holy Spirit for clear direction on responding to the dangers we encounter.

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I believe the Lord wants us to develop a sense of confidence in Him; the Bible says that He is our refuge and strength, He is with us in trouble - and He will teach us how to respond in matters of
security. James 1 states:
5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.
6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind.
7 For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord;
8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

It seems like on a regular basis that we are reminded of the dangerous world in which we live.   One by one, the lives of people are taken by those that possess a blatant disregard for life.

It has been over a month since the Parkland, Florida school shooting that claimed 17 lives.  And, currently, residents of Austin, Texas are on edge in the wake of four separate bombings - the first two, which were package bombs, killed two African-American men who were members of the same church, according to an NBC News story, quoting from a local NAACP representative.  A tripwire bomb on Sunday injured two bicyclists.

And, early this morning, a package exploded at a Texas FedEx facility. News4 in San Antonio reported:

As for the package, sources said it contained shrapnel consisting of nails and pieces of metal. The FBI said the explosion is likely connected to several incidents in the Austin area. The package was reportedly addressed to an Austin location, according to law enforcement sources.

We also remember that it has only been 4-1/2 months since a gunman walked into the First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs and claimed 26 lives.  There was a tweet that went out recently pointing to a November story on the ReligionNews.com website. The article focused on a session in a Michigan church in which Barry Young of Strategos International, described as "a Christian company that teaches people at schools, churches and other institutions how to deal with a violent, armed intruder," had said, “What happened in Texas isn’t new. It’s just larger than normal...”

The article says:

Young advocated for three layers of church security: a parking lot team, greeters and ushers, and a security team. He shared three foundations of church security — “look out,” “get out” and “take out.” He walked attendees through a lockdown, confronting somebody coming down the aisle at a church, and using a tactical pen — a writing instrument and weapon in one — for self-defense.

The host church's head of security Richard Wise, in his opening prayer, stated: “It’s about being prepared for every possible thing that we can think of, Lord. It’s just protecting the flock — it’s protecting what you have blessed us with in the ministry.”  The article stated:

Young shared a number of statistics taken from the statistics on deadly force collected by church security consultant Carl Chinn: Since 1999, there have been more than 1,500 violent church attacks in America, and church violence has gone up 2,380 percent, Young said.

It was pointed out that some of those statistics include suicides on church property.  Nevertheless, there is reason to be concerned - and prayerful and prepared.

LifeWay Christian Resources is offering free security training through May 1, according to the Baptist Press website, which states:

LifeWay's free training first became available on Feb. 16 -- two days after the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., that left 17 people dead and 14 injured. Since then, more than 2,000 people have registered for the security training.

Dale Brooks, who is highlighted in the training material, said: "Church security has some of the most difficult challenges compared to the security operations of businesses, schools and government campuses," adding, "The goal is to have an open campus to share the Gospel of Jesus while ensuring the campus is safe and secure."

There are three words that come to mind when we consider staying safe at church.  I think that ultimately we look to God as our refuge, so prayerfulness is key.  We can be challenged to pray for safety, for God's angelic protection, and for wisdom in how to keep attendees safe.

That leads to another word: prudence.  We can seek to make well-reasoned plans that will contribute to the safety of church-goers.  We can be diligent to be aware of our surroundings, as well.  Perhaps God will point out areas that need to be strengthened.

And, finally, we can take the necessary steps for preparation.  Being prepared does not indicate a lack of faith, it demonstrates the presence of wisdom.  It is a dangerous world, and we certainly acknowledge God as our refuge, who will grant us the direction, by His Holy Spirit to be involved in, as the pastor in Michigan prayed, "protecting the flock."

These three words can also be helpful to consider for our own lives and the lives of our families as we regard God as our refuge.  We pray, we exercise prudence, and we carry out the preparation God directs.