May 14

May 14 - Today from Proverbs 14 we look at verse 32
"When calamity comes, the wicked are brought down, but even in death the righteous have a refuge."

There are times in life when all seems to be right in the world - at least in our own limited little world. In those times we live in the subconscious assumption that death comes only to the aged, and perhaps occasionally by tragic accident to some poor unfortunate soul. These are times that are void of calamity - at least in our own limited little world. Everything is right and proper, and life is as it should be.
Then something comprised of pure wickedness suddenly shatters our peaceable little world and there seems to be nothing we can do to keep the shock waves from knocking down every vestige of security as we knew it. That's what calamity does. We are brought face to face with our own mortality, and with the startling fact that there is no sure-safe way of seeing our life played out to a ripe old age. Even our faith is no sure hedge against physical death in the time of calamity. The righteous die right along side the wicked; calamity makes no distinction. Jesus emphasizes this sobering truth in Luke 13. Apparently there was a calamity where a tower in Siloam collapsed, killing 18 people. Jesus asked the people if they thought the victims were more guilty than all the other people living in Jerusalem. "I tell you no! Unless you repent, you too will all perish." (vs. 5). Jesus set things in perspective. Calamity doesn't happen only to the wicked. In the larger scope of things, we are all destined to an eternal calamity if we do not repent and come to the source of life itself. If not, we will endure a calamity from which we cannot recover, the calamity of eternal death – ever existing apart from the presence of grace. "The wicked are bought down."
When the two airliners crashed into the WTC on September 11 of 2001, many who perished were believers. They were not protected from the calamity. They died. Soon after we faced another calamity in our nation. A sniper duo, driving around the Washington DC region of the East Coast, randomly killing innocent civilians. The snipers had no way of knowing whether the victims were believers or not – it was not an issue. There is no way the population can protect themselves from this type of calamity, except perhaps to lock themselves in their homes until the perpetrators are caught. Their peaceable little world becomes unraveled and they are helpless to do anything about it. And there is nothing to guarantee that a calamity of some magnitude will not happen in our own region. We live in a day of calamity and the shock waves continue to roll.
What are believers who live in such calamity ridden times to do? The only thing to do is to go through daily routines, to be as cautious as possible, and to live close to the Lord. If your time is up, it's up. There is nothing one can do to protect from calamity. But the believer does have something of great and infinite value in times of calamity. Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 5:8 that to be absent from the body is to be present with Christ. Believers caught in calamity cross over from the land of the dying into the land of the living. "Even in death the righteous have a refuge." The possibility of sudden physical death has not been removed by our relationship with Jesus Christ, but the fear of it has. He is our eternal refuge.