by Pastor Douglas Brauner

Rest from the Catastrophes of Life

You can listen to today’s devotion by clicking on this SoundCloud link.

“The fear of the LORD leads to life, and whoever has it rests satisfied; he will not be visited by harm.”
Proverbs 19:23 English Standard Version

The Oregon Coast is my happy place. When I’m stressed, I will picture myself sitting above the ocean listening to the crashing waves, watching a whale spout in the distance, and smelling the salty air.

Where is your happy place? Is it also the ocean, or mountaintop, or a Midwest wheatfield? Where is that place to which you retreat when the world presses in on you.

And the world will press in on you.

Solomon reminds us that our true happy place isn’t the ocean, a mountaintop, or a wheatfield. Our happy place is in the Lord. Rest is found in the presence of the One who satisfies us with forgiveness, peace, and life. These gifts are ours while the world is in turmoil around us.

It would seem that Solomon’s promise is that we should never experience catastrophes of any kind when we worship the Lord. Tell that the people of Fort Myers, Florida who lost everything, some people even losing their loved ones. The promise is that these catastrophes will not “visit” the person who fears the Lord.

These major catastrophes that we experience will alter our lives forever. (That’s an understatement for the people in Florida.) They visit us in ways that a stubbed toe can’t. Solomon’s promise is that these visits by horrific events cannot separate us from God’s love in Jesus. The greatest tragedy in human history is that of the cross. God clothed with humanity is killed by the people he passionately loved.

His tragedy is our hope when we struggle with those things that will visit us for harm. Jesus is our happy place. He always has been and he always will be that place even when there is nothing to be happy about in this world.

Copyright Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado