Remember that chorus some of you used to sing at camp or in youth meetings: “Safe am I, safe am I, in the hollow of His hand; sheltered o’er, sheltered o’er, with His love forevermore. No ill can harm me, no foe alarm me, for He keeps both day and night. Safe am I, safe am I, in the hollow of His hands.” Boy, they just don’t make choruses like that anymore!
But, that is so true! No ill can harm me, no foe alarm me! Eighteenth-century cleric and hymn writer Augustus Toplady put it this way: “A sovereign Protector I have, unseen, yet forever at hand.”
“When actor Jimmy Stewart left Hollywood to become an Air Force pilot following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, his father gave him a copy of Psalm 91 to carry with him as he flew bombing missions. According to the Jimmy Stewart Museum, the actor said, ‘What a promise for an airman. I placed in His hands the squadron I would be leading. And, as the psalmist promised, I felt myself borne up.’ Stewart was referring, of course to Ps. 91:1,2: ‘In their hands (the angels) shall bear you up.’” (copied)
One scribe confessed that there comes, at times, weariness and maybe a temptation to doubt or fear life’s bombardments, but “there comes the blessed assurance that Jesus lives within, the Holy Spirit is our companion, and the Father watches over us. That is safety and security; and we say, with the Scotsman, ‘Who ever heard of anybody drowning with his head that high above water!’”
God, said one wise person, is able to spare us from the furnace: but if not, He will join us in it. Whether He spare or share, He will be there!
A family was once camping in a park in British Columbia. Their seven-year-old son was playing nearby; but after a while, one of the parents, not able to hear the boy, went looking for him to no avail. An intense search ensued and, when the lad was located by the Canadian Mounted police, eight miles from the campsite, it was reported that he had ridden his toy truck into a swiftly flowing river. The trip, thoroughly enjoyed by the youngster, lasted two hours until he finally was lodged onto something in the river. The police reported that the youngster was “very excited.” We, too, find ourselves at times on wild rides in life’s currents. When those times come, that wonderful promise will help get us through: “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you.” (Isa. 43:2)
If you are a child of God through faith in Jesus Christ, then you are as safe as you need to be—as safe as you can be—not only physically but, more importantly, spiritually.
Nineteenth-century world-renowned evangelist D.L. Moody said, “It is a great thing to be an heir of glory. It is a great thing to have your life guarded by the Son of God and to have His angels encamping round about you.”
Ira Sankey, a composer associated with Moody, wrote the song “A Shelter in the Time of Storm.” It begins, “The Lord’s our Rock in Him we hide, a shelter in the time of storm; secure whatever ill betide, a shelter in the time of storm.” That truth is based upon scriptural declarations such as Ps.61:3: “For thou hast been a shelter for me, and a strong tower from the enemy.” The safest place in the world is the center of God’s will for His own. He truly is “A shade by day, defense by night—a shelter in the time of storm.”
James McConkey, author and teacher, shares the following illustration of God’s loving watch-care and protective grace over us: “A beautiful lesson comes to us from Proverbs 30:26. ‘The conies are a feeble folk, yet they make their houses in the rocks.’ The coney is a weak, timid little animal like our rabbit or hare. He has no means of defense in himself, so when his foes, the vulture or eagle, come in sight the coney does not turn at bay and do all he can to defend himself ere he flees. If he did he would be torn to pieces in an instant by a fierce enemy of the air. Nay, the coney has learned a wiser course than this. He knows he is a ‘feeble folk,’ so he rushes straight to the rocks without attempting any defense whatever in his own strength, which is but weakness. Likewise is it with us. Our only course is to learn the coney lesson; to fly straight to our Rock, Christ Jesus, in prayer, and to trust the Rock to keep us.” (copied)
So, yes, “Safe am I; safe am I, in the hollow of His hand.” If you ever did learn that chorus, with its catchy tune, I can almost guarantee you that you’ll be humming it to yourself throughout the rest of your day. By the way, I just paused to look it up in a hymnal that I have at hand. Maildred Leightner Dillon wrote it in 1938; but its truth is timeless. And, I just “googled” “Safe Am I” and found a beautiful rendition of this chorus on YouTube by the “Daybreak Quartet.” Try it, you’ll like it. (Not a commercial, but a great encouragement!) Yes, “He keeps both day and night!” Be safe!
“For Thou art my rock and my fortress; therefore for Thy name’s sake lead me, and guide me.” (Psalm 31:3)
YOU and GOD 