Last Saturday night, my little town did its fireworks – we do them the week after the 4th. As I crawled into bed, I could hear all the booms and see the glow from the explosions in the distance. Of course, I couldn’t help but think of those in war-torn areas of he world.

I remember being in Sarajevo shortly after the Bosnian war. The destruction was massive and the stories of what people endured broke my heart. The city was completely cut off – surrounded by Serbs so that the Bosnians, to survive, had to tunnel under the airport as a route to get supplies into the city. A tiny tunnel over a mile long was all that connected them to the outside world as gunfire and rockets rained down on the city.

Though there was a peace agreement, I could hear gunfire from my hotel room. Not a good feeling. I thought about all the mothers who tried to comfort frightened children…night after night, month after month, year after year. We are so blessed to live in a country that has only know one war on our shores – The War Between the States. it was a bloody war. At the battle of Gettysburg alone, 51,112 died! Unimaginable!

My thoughts are triggered by the conflict between Israel and Gaza. The Palestinians started the conflict and Israel hit back hard and fast – as they have done, historically . On our TV news we see the missiles racing through the night sky and hear the loud boom as it hits its target. The smoke. The fire. The missiles go both ways: from Israel to Gaza and from Gaza to Israel. Creating destruction.

As reported by the media Israel has the most sophisticated defense system in the world: “The Iron Dome”. It detects incoming missiles, targets them and shoots them down before they reach Israel. The Israeli fatalities are lower because of the Iron Dome. The Palestinian casualties are higher since they use human shields.

We can apply that spiritually. We are in a war. We have a clever enemy who prowls around our lives plotting against us, creating destruction. He knows our weak spots, knows where we live and hates us. He is out to destroy our very soul. However, we have access to the most sophisticated defense system in the universe – God Himself.  He knows the enemy’s tactics well and has already defeated him.

Almighty God is stronger and safer than the enemy and the Iron Dome! We can be secure in Him. Or try our own human defense. If we rely on God there may be temporary destruction but we have the assurance nothing can destroy our soul. If we use our own, human resources there will be destruction in our lives and ultimately our  eternal souls.

“He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. (Ps.91:1)

“Therefore the safety of Pharaoh will be your shame and the shelter in the shadow of Egypt, your humiliation.” (Isaiah 30:3)

We dare not trust in our “Egypts”but totally trust our “God dome”.