Security
When I was in the first year of college, I engaged in the student labor program. I studied during the day and worked during the night. No one envied me. Why? I was a SECURITY guard. No one wanted my job. Most students were hesitant to work as a SECURITY guard, not least because of the responsibility. As a SECURITY guard, you are responsible for the safety and SECURITY of the whole campus—and the people who dwell on it throughout the night.
I didn’t mind the work. Well, it was the only job available at the time. But then it occurred to me that though my job as a SECURITY guard was to secure others if a bad actor should come and attack the campus, my own SECURITY was at risk! I also started to think about the disruption to my sleep patterns. While the other students were sleeping soundly, I always had to remain awake and constantly had to stay vigilant. Doing such work in the middle of cold and dark nights was an ordeal—still, there was a sense of satisfaction for me. After all, I was securing people’s safety. That gave me a feeling of accomplishment while on duty. Best of all, I enjoyed peace of mind because somehow I just know that God—the Great SECURITY guard—was watching over me as His child, while I watched out for His other children.
The late Indian Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi, had 360 bodyguards. She believed this would give her the SECURITY she needed, wherever she went. Ironically, she was killed by one of her SECURITY guards. There are those who consider a human bodyguard to be their best SECURITY. There are others who believe that their SECURITY is in their life insurance policy, bank account balance, wealth, or treasure. But where do we find true SECURITY, something we can depend on? I believe that true SECURITY is found only in the Lord, in Jesus Christ.
Remember Noah? God preserved Noah and his family in the ark. God was Noah’s SECURITY. Remember the Israelites? They roamed around for forty years on their journey to Canaan! God provided food, water, and shelter for them in the wilderness. God was the Israelites’ SECURITY. Remember Job? Job was one of the richest men in the East in his time, but when he went through trials and ordeals in his life, he trusted God for his SECURITY. He said, “If I have put my trust in gold or said to pure gold, ‘You are my SECURITY,’ if I have rejoiced over my great wealth, the fortune my hands had gained … then these also would be sins to be judged, for I would have been unfaithful to God on high” (Job 31:24-25, 28, NIV, emphasis added). For Job, SECURITY was not based on gold or wealth, but only on God.
In the book, Messages to Young People, Ellen White wrote, “Christ has made every provision for us to be strong. He has given us His Holy Spirit, whose office is to bring to our remembrance all the promises that Christ has made, that we may have peace and a sweet sense of forgiveness. If we will but keep our eyes fixed on the Savior, and trust in His power, we shall be filled with a sense of SECURITY; for the righteousness of Christ will become our righteousness” (p. 10, emphasis added). Ellen White’s position was that we can only have a mind at peace and a sense of SECURITY if we trust in the power of God.
Somebody may be going through a difficult time right now. You may feel hopeless. There may seem to be no way out. But remember—there is always a way. Sometimes God waits until your back is against the wall before He acts so that when you come through it, you know it was no one but God that brought you out. Make ‘God First.’ He is our true and GREAT SECURITY. And His greatest work and highest joy is to care for His children. So whatever your situation today, trust in the Lord. We are SECURE in His hands.
Hiskia Missah
Editor
