“Because you have made the Lord, who is my refuge, even the Most High, your dwelling place, no evil shall befall you, nor shall any plague come near your dwelling…” Psalm 91: 9,10
Why preach about the importance of the presence of God in our lives, when modern humankind seems to be getting along just fine without it? However, human “independence” is but an illusion. During the Enlightenment, it was thought that mankind had reached its full “maturity” and that it did not need any external authority. What were the results? See for yourself the chaos that came about due to this exaggerated optimism. Behind the apparent illusion of life without God, there is a desolate and tragic reality at the heart of contemporary humankind. God has been removed, and nothing comparable to Him has been found as substitute. We are able to verify today, that there has been a profound loss of meaning, purpose, safety and direction as result of the failure to replace the Irreplaceable.
Technology, education, scientific progress, affluence, diverse political systems and predominant modern forces may offer the impression that God is unnecessary, but such alternatives only aggravate the feeling of utter “orphancy” of man. Scripture insists that the problem with people is not, primarily, technological, educational, material, political or boredom. Our fundamental difficulty has to do with human nature: selfish, corrupt, deceitful, motivated by petty desires, by that which we wish to obtain for ourselves, despite what it may cost to others around us. We suffer from the alienation from God, and choosing to live without Him, humans cannot live with themselves. Sooner or later, God’s “substitutes” collapse, and we become victims to all sorts of evils. What is the only true safety? Only He who is greater than life itself. Verses 9 and 10 of the renown Psalm 91 assure us that: “If you say, “The Lord is my refuge, and you make the Most High your dwelling, no harm will overtake you, no disaster will come near your tent.” Through His infinite providence, the Lord will give your life a sense of direction and connection. He will work for you on the journey of life, even through life’s minefields of crisis and adversities. “For He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways” (verse 11). Who, or what can cover such an offer?