When I was sharing about my earthquake experience in Japan with my friend, Mike Bechtle (author of books on making evangelism easy for introverts Mike’s books), I told him about how I felt God’s peace and protection even in the midst of possible danger. He replied, “Alfred Hitchcock supposedly said, ‘People love to be terrified when they know they’re safe.'”
That so resonated with me. As a California girl, I’ve been in lots of earthquakes and because I’ve never been in real danger of something crashing down on me, they’ve become sorta like an amusement park ride. I felt the same during the earthquake in Japan. It was rocking and rolling and we knew it was a big one because it was strong and long. My sister and I were definitely looking at each other wide-eyed. But we didn’t know the extent of it, nor the destruction that would be coming because of the tsunami. We didn’t see anything being damaged.
But I really know that the peace that surrounded us was more than all that. It was a sense of God’s presence and that He was completely in charge and in control of anything that might happen to us. And as I’ve shared in other posts, He guided us and orchestrated everything we needed to return home safely.
Chuck Swindoll, pastor and author, says that God’s sovereignty is “our all-wise, all-knowing God reigning in realms beyond our comprehension to bring about a plan beyond our ability to alter, hinder, or stop.”
Trusting in God’s sovereignty is how you and I can go through something terrifying without succumbing to the terror. We are safe in God’s loving care. We are safe in God’s incredible power. We are safe in God’s amazing plan. If we believe He knows what is best for us and for His glory, then we need not succumb to fear. Nothing will happen to us outside of His protective plan for us.
Is something looming in your life that seems scary? Terrifying? Unhappy? Does it feel like the earth is rocking and rolling under you and terror is creeping up your spine? Life is scary. Life is uncertain. And there’s nothing wrong with feelings of fear. But we don’t have to succumb to those feelings. We can surrender to whatever God allows if we believe He wants only the best for us.
You are safe. Trusting in your loving Heavenly Father will help you go along for the rocking and rolling ride.