(This sermon was preached for the funeral of a dear member of our congregation named Annette.)
The last time I actually got to talk to Annette was two weeks ago on Saturday, November 6th. I saw her many times afterward, but she wasn’t able to speak. On that Saturday, we made a little small talk, and then I opened up my Bible to read something. Before I could, she whispered: “Read one about the angels. Read one about the angels.” So this is what I read: Psalm 91.
“Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”
Surely he will save you from the fowler’s snare and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.
You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday. A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you. You will only observe with your eyesand see the punishment of the wicked.
If you say, “The Lord is my refuge,” and you make the Most High your dwelling, no harm will overtake you, no disaster will come near your tent.
For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone. You will tread on the lion and the cobra; you will trample the great lion and the serpent.
“Because he loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name. He will call on me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him. With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation.” (Psalm 91:1-16 NIV)
When I finished, Annette said, “That’s good.” “Yes, Annette. God is good!” God’s promises are so good, even when you’re lying on a hospital bed. It makes me think of a book. Have you heard of the book, “The Hiding Place?” It tells the story of a Dutch family—the ten Booms—during World War II. When the Nazis took over Holland and begin persecuting the Jews, Casper ten Boom and his family decided to do all they could to save them. They built a secret room in their house—called the “hiding place”—and risked their lives to hide Jews there. Over the course of the war, over 800 Jews were saved through this one family and their “hiding place.”
I think that’s what we all need today: A “hiding place.” Would you agree? We long for a “hiding place” in the middle of our cruel world. We long for a “hiding place” where we can feel safe and comfortable and content and protected and loved. Do you see what I mean? We need a hiding place. I’m convinced that Annette found one. Do you know where? In Jesus. In this cruel world, Annette found her hiding place in Jesus. Where do you go when you have Parkinson’s? To Jesus. When you’re in the hospital? To Jesus. When you can’t go anywhere at all? To Jesus. If you knew Annette, you know that she had a hiding place, and she would love for you to have one too.
So today, in the middle of your tears, listen to what God offers you: “Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, ‘He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.’” Did you catch it? God wants to be your hiding place—your shelter, your shadow, your refuge, your fortress. I especially like the picture of God’s shadow. When we walk down the street, my little kids can fit inside my shadow. Sometimes they chases it or try to step on it. This is you and God. You fit in his shadow. If you are looking for a place where you can feel loved, you find that in God. God’s your hiding place.
“He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.” Isn’t that a beautiful picture of God’s love for us? Like a mother eagle covers her chicks with her wings, God covers us. That means I’m a chick. I don’t say that very often! But it’s true, isn’t it? You’re a chick too. And in our big, bad world, little chicks don’t stand a chance, unless their mother’s wings protect them. Where are you going to find that, other than in God? God’s unchanging, loving faithfulness surrounds and protects us.
Here’s what that means for you: “You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday. A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you.” If God really has his wings over you, what can harm you? Those words about pestilence and plague have special meaning for us now, don’t they? Yet, the author of this psalm wasn’t afraid. A thousand may fall. Ten thousand may fall. “I will not fear!” Can you say that?
What’s it for you? What keeps you up at night? As you stare at a casket, maybe it’s loneliness. Or regret. Or guilt. Or that empty feeling of loss that sucks you in. But it doesn’t matter what’s stacked against us. Do you remember who is on your side? Jesus! The Ten Boom family faced Hitler and millions of Nazis soldiers. Yet, God allowed them to save the lives of many people. “If God is for us, who can stand against us?” (Romans 8:31). “He will cover you with his feathers.” Do you see what God is saying? No matter what you face, you have a hiding place.
Because, “if you make the Most High your dwelling, no harm will overtake you, no disaster will come near your tent.” The word for “dwelling” is the word for an animal’s hidden lair. Do you ever wonder where the animals go on cold, winter days? They have a secret place too, right? A place where it’s warm and dry and safe. That’s what God offers you. A place where you can go when life is cold. It’s always there. It’s Jesus. To be loved by Jesus is to have a hiding place.
I told you about this Dutch family and their hiding place. It’s estimated that 800 Jews safely passed through their house. But it didn’t end well. In 1944, the Nazis raided their home. The whole ten Boom family was arrested. The courageous father—84-year-old Casper ten Boom—died just ten days later in prison. A son and a daughter died in German concentration camps. But do you know what the Nazis never found? They never found the hiding place. The six Jews in the hiding place survived, even as the family that protected them was carried away. That’s love! Love meant that family was willing to sacrifice at all costs to give others a hiding place.
Isn’t that exactly what Jesus has done for us? Our sin and guilt were hunting us down. But what did God do? His love and his forgiveness covered over us, while he allowed his own Son Jesus to be carried off to die. I know you’ve heard that a lot, but I hope that still amazes you. Jesus was taken off to die, so that you are forgiven. He was taken off to die, so that you are saved. He was taken off to die, so that you have eternal life. There is salvation in Jesus! “If you make the Most High your dwelling…then no harm will befall you, no disaster will come near your tent.”
And that’s where the angels come in: “For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.” The Bible doesn’t talk about each person having one specific guardian angel. It says something even better! There are many guardian angels that surround God’s people at all times. There are angels around your children, even when you’re not there. There are angels at your parent’s side, even when you’re not. Annette was right! “Pastor, read one about the angels.”
So why didn’t those angels protect Annette? After I read these words at the hospital, why didn’t God make her better? He did! God finally made Annette better. After all these years. After all your prayers. Because life isn’t just in this world. Those angels had one more job. Jesus tells the story of a poor man named Lazarus who suffered through each day with sickness and sores. But do you remember what happened when he died? “The angels carried him to Abraham’s side” in heaven (Luke 16:22). The angels did their job. When it was God’s time, they carried her home.
Why? Listen to how our psalm ends. “‘Because he loves me,’ says the LORD, ‘I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name. He will call upon me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him. With long life will I satisfy him and show him my salvation.” Why does God bless us? He says, “Because he loves me.” Notice that God doesn’t say, “Because he’s such a good person.” Or “Because she’s done so many nice things.” No! God’s salvation doesn’t depend on our goodness. It depends on God’s grace. It’s God’s gift to all who believe in Jesus. That’s why Annette is in heaven today. Because of Jesus!
That’s what gives Christians peace in the face of death. If Annette had to do the right things to get into heaven, I don’t think she would have made it. Do you know what Annette had the strength to do at the end of her life? Nothing. She couldn’t breathe on her own. She couldn’t eat on her own. She couldn’t walk on her own. She couldn’t talk on her own. And if all that is true, she certainly couldn’t get into heaven on her own. But she didn’t have too. Remember the angels? They carried her to God’s side. All because of Jesus. She’s home. She’s healed.
So what about you? What do you do in the middle of the tears and the loss and the sadness? You still have a hiding place! It wasn’t Annette, as special as she is. It’s Jesus! If you haven’t figured it out yet, your spouse can’t be your refuge and your hiding place. Because one day he or she will be gone. Your kids can’t be your refuge and your hiding place. Because one day they will be gone too. Your parents can’t be your hiding place. Because one day they will be gone. Who is our refuge and our fortress—in life and in death, in good times and in bad times? God. If you’ve been sliding away from Jesus, today is the day to come back. To repent. To reorder your life.
Because if God is your hiding place, you can have strength and peace even today. Here’s three promises even in the darkest moments of life: “He will call upon me, and I will answer him.” We say, “Whenever you call me, I’ll be there.” That’s God’s promise! We pray, and he answers. What’s more encouraging than that? Here’s another: “I will be with him in trouble.” God doesn’t just know what we’re going through. He doesn’t just relate to our troubles. He’s here. Right now. With you. Wow! Here’s one more: “With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation.” One day, God is going to heal you for good too. One day, God is going to wipe away every last tear for good too. We look forward to that day! But until then, we have a hiding place in Jesus.
It’s amazing what a heart filled with Jesus can face. When Corrie ten Boom’s father, Casper, was arrested, the Nazis offered to let him go, because he was so old. Do you know what he said? “If I go home today, tomorrow I will open my door to anyone who asks for help.” So they arrested him. Before Corrie ten Boom’s sister Betsie died in a concentration camp, she said, “There is no pit so deep that God is not deeper still.” How could they say those things? They had a hiding place. Even better than the one they built in their house. “There is no pit so deep that God is not deeper still.” Annette believed that. You can too. You have a hiding place! It’s Jesus.
Comments