Psalm 46:1-3 “God is our refuge and strength, an ever present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.” NIV

Our grey tabby cat, Joey Been, was so called as truly it seemed he had been everywhere. A born adventurer we never knew where we might find him next. One day however Joey and his whereabouts really took me by surprise.

It was just an ordinary winter’s day and I was driving along our rural road on my way into town when I kept hearing a strange, unaccountable noise emitting from my van. What is that, I kept asking myself, I’ve never heard a vehicle make such a strange noise. Slowing down in the hopes of pinpointing the source and identifying it, was to no avail, in fact the weird yowling seemed to increase as the speed decreased. Finally I decided to pull over and pop the hood for a peek.

My surprise and shock when I opened the driver’s door and hopped out, only to find Joey Been clinging frantically to the roof of my van is to this day difficult to describe. And how Joey had ever been able to stay atop that shiny, smooth metal roof as I was cruising along at 50 miles per hour on a bumpy back road is beyond me, but stay atop he did until I reached up and rescued my terrified, shaking, wild-eyed pet.

Today or one day in the future you or I may also find ourselves taking a ride: A ride in life which may not be of our choosing. This ride may be one which seeks to strike confusion, fear, even terror into our hearts, one which truly causes us to wonder if we will survive it. War, death, sickness, homelessness and natural disasters, are all examples of life’s rides which can and often do bring about such emotions. And yet as the psalmist has penned:

“God is our refuge and strength, an ever present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.”

What a marvelous promise, one to cling to with tenacity when the rides of this life cause us to feel totally vulnerable and afraid, for God is indeed with us, an ever present help in trouble. The very same God who spoke to the Jeremiah and declared:

For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

We may not know what form those plans or that future may take, earthly or heavenly, but we can by faith, choose to trust God in his mercy and goodness amidst our situation, knowing that as we do so, peace will replace fear, confusion, even terror, and that we will indeed arrive safely and soundly at exactly the right destination God has prepared for us.

Prayer: Father God, thank you that in your mercy and goodness you recognize what frail and frightened creatures we are and can be. Thank you not only for the truth of your written word but especially for the presence of your living word, Jesus Christ in our lives, every minute of every day. Open our eyes that we might see him. Open our ears that we might hear him. Open our hearts that we might embrace him, enabling us to rest in peace and safety amidst whatever ride in life may come our way today or in the future. In his wonderful name we pray. Amen.

Lynne Phipps
Atlin, B.C.