Dan Crawford once said when his life was in danger, “The lion may lie down with the lamb, but the lamb does not sleep very well.” By all accounts, not everyone feels safe these days. How do we ensure our safety? Churches and schools ask this question these days, as well as political gatherings. Malls, concerts, and grocery stores have become the sites of mass shootings in our day.
Two hundred soldiers and the cavalry kept Paul safe on the way from Jerusalem to Antipatris and then to Caesarea by the sea. Apparently, Paul’s opponents did not feel that they could overcome a Roman garrison. The commander Claudius Lysias sent Paul to Governor Felix so that his accusers might make their case against him. But the commander kept him safe with soldiers on the journey. Was Paul under arrest or under the protection of the Roman government at this point? In his letter to Felix, the commander seems to say Paul is being kept safe. Instead of a prison, he finds a palace for his accommodations in Caesarea. Is Paul safe there?
What is the basis of our safety today? Do we need an armed guard to protect us? Remember when David was running for his life from Absalom. By some accounts, his death was imminent. But David found his security in God. “But you Lord are a shield around me, my glory, the one who lifts my head high. I call out to the Lord, and he answers me from his holy mountain. I lie down and sleep; I wake again because the Lord sustains me. I will not fear though tens of thousands assail me on every side” (Psalm 3:3-6). God is the source of our safety today. We are secure in his hands.
