Safety of Abiding in the Presence of God...

The guest speaker for our company staff meeting this morning was Lance Corporal Kevan Plumb of the USMC (Kevan is also the husband of fellow co-worker, Bethany).
Last month, Kevan returned to the United States after serving a 9 month term in Iraq for the USMC.

As Kevan stepped up to the podium to speak, I anticipated that I would hear some interesting stories & details of the war in Iraq... you know, inside stuff that we don't hear from the news.

Instead, he shared about how a specific passage in the Bible reaffirmed and deepened his understanding of the Grace of God. The passage he read to us was Psalm 91. Before he read it to us, he gave us the context of an actual event where he and his fellow soldiers were under heavy siege and where they had to face the reality that they might be killed in the line of duty.

Psalm 91
1 He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. 2 I will say of the Lord, "He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust." 3 Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler And from the perilous pestilence. 4 He shall cover you with His feathers, And under His wings you shall take refuge; His truth shall be your shield and buckler. 5 You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, Nor of the arrow that flies by day, 6 Nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness, Nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday. 7 A thousand may fall at your side, And ten thousand at your right hand; But it shall not come near you. 8 Only with your eyes shall you look, And see the reward of the wicked.
9 Because you have made the Lord, who is my refuge, Even the Most High, your dwelling place, 10 No evil shall befall you, Nor shall any plague come near your dwelling; 11 For He shall give His angels charge over you, To keep you in all your ways. 12 In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone. 13 You shall tread upon the lion and the cobra, The young lion and the serpent you shall trample underfoot. 14 "Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him on high, because he has known My name. 15 He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor him. 16 With long life I will satisfy him, And show him My salvation."

My soul was definitely stirred when Kevan read that passage. There was no hoopla about the war against terror, nor about the superiority of the US Armed Forces (though I am definitely grateful for their service). It was just a simple message from a grateful & humble soldier who wanted to make sure that God received the Glory... and that in all things and in all circumstances, God's Grace is sufficient.