No Open Windows

Psalm 121:8
8 The LORD will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore.

Brigitte Macron, the French first lady, complained this week regarding the overly restrictive atmosphere in the White house, “Mrs Trump can’t do anything,” she whined,  “She can’t even open a window at the White House.” According to the Guardian's translation of Le Monde's French-language report, Brigitte continued, “She can’t go outside. She’s much more constrained than I am. I go out every day in Paris.”

My first thought when I read this was gratitude to our Secret Service. It seems they are actually concerned to keep the First Family alive. Every threat has been anticipated. Every avenue of attack has been closed down. Open windows represent a chink in the armor, a way for threats to enter, a risk factor threatening the atmosphere of safety inside the “Shield.”

My next thought after hearing Ms. Macron’s complaint was to think of our heavenly Father. He, too, has a “no open windows” policy around His children. No evil will be allowed near us (Psalm121:7), that is to say no unintended evil, unpermitted evil, evil that is not designed to work together for our good (Romans 8:28).

What an encouraging thought. An unseen protector has His eye on you continually. Before the President makes a trip from the White House, the agents spend up to 3 months planning every detail. But God has spent eternity planning your every movement. Life never takes Him by surprise. When things go “wrong” in our day, we sometimes say, “Stuff happens!” Life seems so unpredictable. But that is precisely what does not happen in God’s plan. Stuff never happens to Him. God has it all in His hands.  From Him, and through Him, and to Him are all things. He see’s every cell of your body. No hidden malignancy escapes his notice. The one who kept even the dogs from growling against Israel in Egypt (Exodus 11:7), keeps an omnipotent muzzle on the demonic forces who mean us woe. On His calendar, He marked the day you took your first breath, and He has marked the day, the hour, the second, you will take your last one. Every day in between is scheduled by kind providence. “The steps of a man are established by the Lord, and He delights in His way. When he falls, he will not be hurled headlong, for the Lord is the One who holds His hand.” Psalm 37:23-24). I have been meditating on this verse recently. Do you realize, Christian, God puts His heart into His plans for you. How this thought should silence every complaint. An old writer once said, “If I had the power of God there are many details I would change in my life, but if I had His wisdom and love, I would leave things exactly as they are!” Where in your life are you tempted to demur? Where is your soul tensing, resisting the massaging hands of God’s grace.  He is rubbing the knots out. At times, to be sure, this process will be painful. The key is to relax into the pressure. He means us well and is too wise to err, and too loving to cause His child a needless tear. Whatever befalls you this week. Remember God’s no “open window policy.” You are His beloved. Everything is in His hands.