'I am not alone'

In London, the news of the earthquake in California Tuesday flashed on the computer. One woman's first thought went to her niece who lives in Los Angeles. The California phone lines were tied up, but she remembered that her niece's cellphone had a New York number that she could call.

Her niece answered the phone and told her aunt that she was fine, although her building had rocked and shaken. Just then her aunt could hear the loudspeakers through the telephone announcing that the elevators were locked and the stairwells had just been opened. She urged her niece to leave the building. Her niece reassured her calmly, "But I am not alone! I am with all my colleagues."

All that time the woman had thought that her niece was on her own in her apartment. In her panic she'd forgotten it was actually the middle of the day in Los Angeles.

Those words, "I am not alone," in her niece's calm voice just hit her. Of course she was not alone! How can a child of a loving Father-Mother God ever be alone? God's love cares for all.

A psalm that has comforted many people for years describes the mothering and fathering of God in this way: "He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler" (91:4).

In the middle of a raging storm, Jesus was asleep in a boat while his disciples were afraid for their lives. When they woke him up, he confidently commanded the storm to be still, and it stilled (see Mark 4:35-41). He proved that there was a divine power far stronger than the storm. He exhibited total confidence in the supremacy of God's spiritual laws over storms.

The Apostle Paul wrote: "I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God" (Rom. 8:38, 39, New Revised Standard Version).

God is always with us, caring for us, in whatever "boat" we find ourselves. As the reflection of infinite Love, we cannot for a moment become separated from this source of complete care. Our protection comes from recognizing this special relationship we have with our Father-Mother God. God does care. He loves us enough to create us in His own image, after His own likeness, in the image of His love.

At moments when our faith is tested, we may forget about our true identity, but God never forgets. He gives us this promise as recorded in Isaiah: "Yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee" (49:15).

We can stay in the stillness that recognizes God's provision for us and demand that there be peace in thought. And thought has power. Each time a storm of fear or doubt is stilled, it has an effect on the whole universe. With the authority of the Christ we can demand that the storm stop raging in our consciousness and bring about the still, small voice of Truth to give us comfort and the same conviction of God's care for His children that Jesus conveyed to his disciples.

As children of God, it is our divine right to claim the safety that is ours. This is not blind faith grasping at straws, but an understanding that God is good and is always with us.

He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust. He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler. For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. Psalms 91:1, 2, 4, 11