Man has always sought peace and security. In ancient times the safest place to live was in a walled fortress castle or town. Then Henry perfected use of the trebuchet and that was that.Man tried to use natural geo-forms to protect themselves, the most extreme being the residents of San Marino. Situated in the Apennine Mountains, it is a landlocked enclave, completely surrounded by Italy. They were never defeated, but they never went anywhere, either. They are best known for making tiny postage stamps and being really good with a bow and arrow.
Then man made nuclear weapons, and thought that deterrence would be the peaceful way to security. Or the secure way to peace. The 1960s were rife with nuclear drills and fallout shelters. This was the time in which I grew up. The Soviet threat was real and kids understood that the specter of nuclear war as a present reality. We just expected that someone, somewhere, was going to nuke someone. Fallout shelters were De rigueur. A fallout shelter is an enclosed space specially designed to protect occupants from radioactive debris or fallout resulting from a nuclear explosion. They made it seem that living in a fallout shelter was a picnic wrapped in a camping trip. Pop culture promoted this thought (Fallout handbooks saying "How You Can Survive a Nuclear War"). The Twilight Zone weighed in with a rare dose of reality with The Shelter. Watch it, the 25 minutes is worthwhile.
The Cuban Missile Crisis didn't help the mindset, either. Then the Berlin Wall fell and the Soviet Republics split apart and nuclear was was passe.
Now after twenty years, there is another missile threat, this time, from North Korea. And for the first time ever, even from the bad old fifties and sixties, the headlines touting imminent nuclear bombings are appearing, and plentifully too.
- N Korea defends nuclear programme
- War book reveals how Britain planned to cope with nuclear attack
- Serbs send nuclear fuel to Russia, citing security
- Upheaval in Iran Doesn't Change Nuclear Calculus
- Iran Nuclear Nightmare
- Al Qaeda & Pakistan's Nukes: Apocalypse Soon?
People have always and vainly tried to protect themselves from the elements, from war, from aggressive neighbors. It has never worked, and living in a fallout shelter won't work either.
"While people are saying, "Peace and safety," destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape." 1 Thessalonians 5:3
You know what will work? Jesus. There is safety in Jesus. Not in never having to deal with a tragedy or never having your personal safety compromised. Both are likely to happen to you in living a life here on sinful earth. But living under the arms of Jesus means eternal security. "He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty." Psalm 91
"The fear of man brings a snare, But whoever trusts in the LORD shall be safe."Proverbs 29:25
"Behold, God is my salvation, I will trust and not be afraid; For Yah, the Lord, is my strength and song; He also has become my salvation.’ ” Isaiah 12:2
There are so many more scriptures where God gives us His blessed assurance that whatever fallout we may be experiencing in our lives, He is with us through emotional, physical, nuclear, psychological, any fallout whatsoever. He is with us and gives us His strength and safety in His promises. As for me, I'll take the Savior's safety any day, over concrete bunker and stocked up peas and stale bottled water. You can have that safety as well! Perfect peace, that no matter what comes, and it is coming, you can feel free from fear and lay in the cleft of the rock under His care. Here's how.
