Oil Painting by John Poon
(c) John Poon
This painting called, "Safe Harbor" by John Poon, who lives in Wyoming with his wife and five children and family pet, Sven, is one of the best depictions of safe harbor that I have seen in a long while.
The phrase "safe harbor" is used commonly when referring to periods of sanctuary from any storm. That storm can be a physical storm, spiritual storm, emotional storm, verbal storm, etc. There are many applications for the phrase "safe harbor." But safe harbor most often draws me to the place of sanctuary from a physical storm or emotional storm. Every seafarer, airplane traveller, hiker, skiier, family member, etc., knows what it is like to experience a very traumatic physical or emotional storm. There is nothing like the experience of coming into a safe harbor, either, during the storm, or after the storm has passed.
For some people, the storm has torn up every normal piece of surrounding and there is literally no way for someone to catch their bearing. In death, most of the relatives and friends leave a couple of weeks after the funeral and the bereaved one remaining is left to pick up the pieces totally alone. For this person, a trusted friend can choose to become a "safe harbor" for the one who is experiencing loss. It is no understatement to note that in order to be someone else's "safe harbor" you must also be safe yourself. You must have anchored yourself well in the balance of life. As you can see from John Poon's picture, the fisherman tethered his boat to the pier to keep it from floating away. This particular pier looks like it has stone underneath it, that means it is more securely anchored than a floating pier. The fisherman knew which pier to anchor his vessel.
In the midst of a great physical storm, it can be difficult to find the place to securely anchor one's self especially if the storm tore to pieces the house, the church, the family, the marriage, the hillside, or any other part of life that had to go through the tulmult. Yet, there is one sure anchor. In the Psalms, King David wrote his enemies were all around him and war was breaking out in every region around him, he was being slandered and people were bringing false accusations against him, he chose to not be afraid. Why? Because He knew he could trust in the God of his fathers to deliver him. Psalm 27:5For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his tabernacle and set me high upon a rock. (New International Version: Used with permission) King David knew that Father God would hide him in His dwelling (the Temple - which is where God's presence dwells) and the shelter of the tabernacle (which is the place of worship) and during his time of duress even though the storm raged, Father God would give him the highest vantage point on a secure footing, a rock, from which he could see how to defeat his enemies.
Now, in the New Covenant, we know that Father God chooses to live in our Temple (which is our earthly body) by the presence of the Holy Spirit and His son, Jesus Christ, when we dwell together with Him in worship and through worship and by worship. In His presence, we are hidden safely from all harm. Even though physically, there is no physical building around us, worship happens the moment we turn our eyes toward heaven and begin to thank the Creator, Father God for allowing us to have life, breath, limbs, love, bread, children, money, cars, etc. As we move into worship and thanksgiving, we enter the "safe harbor" and become anchored to the rock, which is the Christ, Jesus Christ, who is immovable, by the power of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit then elevates us to a position above the storm whereby we can see the path out of the wreck that the storm has created.
There are moments... when we are called to enter into worship corporately and become safe harbor for one another. These are the times when it is necessary for the one who is able to carry the one who is broken into the place of worship, just as the one who was too sick to see Jesus was lowered into the place where Jesus was. By being Jesus to others, we become the presence of Christ that shelters others from the storm when they are unable to enter in on their own accord. Together, then, we are able to walk into the very presence of a very loving God, who desires nothing more than to love on His creation and restore them back into fullness of being.
This then is the true meaning of safe harbor. In that place, we all have the capacity to become vehicles of calm and transcendence of God's presence into a broken and torn apart world.
What kind of harbor are you?
With love,
RamyB
(c) 2007, Ram's Horn Ministries, with exception of photo of painting which belongs exclusively to John Poon.
