12062019 Ends of the Earth

Dear Missionary Lady,

I recently read a great missionary verse. "By terrible things in righteousness wilt thou answer us, O God of our salvation; who art the confidence of all the ends of the earth, and of them that are afar off upon the sea" (Psalm 65:5).

While missionaries can be in the middle of booming cities, many of them are in some remote places. They go to places people have never heard of, and live in places few people ever visit. In each of those places, whether highly civilized (but far from home) or rugged and poor (and far from home), God is there. God can be confidently depended on by those who live and travel in what seem to be the ends of the earth.

For fun, I found a website listing twelve of the remotest locations on earth. How many have you heard of? 1) Ittoqqortoormiit, Greenland. One of the most remote towns in a remote country. 2) Kerguerlen Islands. A French territory in the Indian Ocean, also known as the Desolation Islands, 3,300 km from the nearest populated location. 3) Pitcairn Island. A British island in the South Pacific - population 50. 4) Tristan Da Cunha. An archipelago 2,000km from inhabited land. 5) Oymyakon, Russia. One of the coldest places on earth. Record -90F. 6) Chang Tang, Tibet. A high plateau home to 500,000 nomadic (and rarely seen) people. An explorer who crossed the region didn't see anyone for 81 days. 7) Medog County, China. The last county in China to get road access (but only for 9 months of the year). 8) The South Pole. Six months of continuous night.  9) Easter Island. 3,512 km from the coast of Chile. 10) Barrow, Alaska. The northernmost point in the USA. 11) Longyearbyen, Svalbard. The world's northernmost settlement of at least 1000 residents. 12) Point Nemo. The point in the ocean that is furthest from land. Often the closest humans are actually aboard the International Space Station, which passes six times closer than the nearest land.

If you were a missionary in one of those places, could God be your confidence there? Would He hear you there? Would He be your help? Absolutely! There is nowhere so remote that God is not there with you to be your helper. There is nowhere you can go where you can't rely on Him.

Verses 2-4 of this psalm share some really important things about the God who is our help. He hears prayer (v. 2). He forgives sins (v. 3). He allows people to approach Him (v. 4). Without those three things, we would all be sunk!

Can God really intervene over all the earth - to the remotest corners? Consider what the remainder of the psalm reveals about His power and control of the earth. He puts the mountains in place (v. 6) - mountains that no one has ever climbed and that only small numbers of people have ever seen. Mountains where isolated people live in poverty.

God stills the seas (v. 7). Seas that are so treacherous they discourage travel. Seas characterized by dangerous currents, underwater reefs, and rocky shores. Seas so vast they create seemingly unreachable locations. Seas containing islands where visitors rarely come and residents never leave.

God makes the dawn and twilight (v. 8). The universal beauty reaches every creature on earth. The sun's rays penetrate the thickest jungle and the remotest rainforest. They shine over the entire vast deserts and to every corner of the sea.

God gives rain and food to the whole earth and makes the animals flourish (vs. 9-12). Whether that food is rice, beans, manioc, fish, or tropical fruit, it all comes from God. He provides enough rain for each habitat, to support its growing needs, whether in the desert or the rain forest. Whether the creatures raised are sheep, camels, cattle, or reindeer, they are provided for by the hand of God.

God is in all those places. He loves and is able to save the people who live in each of them. He can protect and help His servants who go even to those places, and certainly to those less remote as well. Even though most people think you live at the end of the earth, you are never outside the realm of God's help. May He be your confidence this week, wherever you are!

Love in Christ,
Peggy Holt
member at Open Door Baptist Church in Lebanon, PA
www.pressingontohigherground.blogspot.com