ADVENTURE IN GOD

Genesis 5:1-7:24; Matthew 3:7-4:11; Psalm 3:1-8; Proverbs 1:10-19

“But you, O Lord, are a shield around me, my glory, the One who lifts my head high.”

“Noah found favor with the Lord…. He consistently followed God’s will and enjoyed a close relationship with Him…. So God said to Noah,… “Look! ….I solemnly swear to keep you safe in this boat with your wife and your sons and their wives.”

The message of the Ark is that there is certainly a time for adventure and risk (and even for looking silly to the neighbors!), but there is also a time to take refuge in God.  As inconsistent as it sounds, I am learning those times should overlap.  Regarding adventure and safety in God as mutually exclusive leads me to refuse adventure or take stupid risks.  I try to “gut it out” on my own and end up burned out.  No wonder the Baptist implored people to, “Prove by the way you live that you have really turned from your sins and turned to God.” (Matthew 3:8)  Bottom line?  Abiding in God is not an event; it is a lifestyle, one that takes consistent practice in every circumstance.  Relying on God also is the ultimate adventure, the only one where we become more secure the more we risk. 

Jesus understood this.  It was a true adventure to be led into the desert to confront Satan on his home court (a desert – how fitting!).  But then, for Jesus to rely exclusively on the Scriptural wisdom of His Father, rather than His human logic and knowledge of right and wrong – that’s true sanctuary and security, at the very center of adventure.  So… my plan is to take more seriously the fact that I am ALWAYS surrounded by the glory of God, and that He will be my shield, whatever the circumstances.