Our radio exchange went like this: 

“Dispatch, this is Delta 219 leaving Tango 9 for HQ, Papa 2 Whiskey on board, over.” 

“Papa 2 Whisky, proceed.” 

I wasn’t allowed to drive in my host country because my nationality and gender made me a target for crime. For that reason, a trip to town required a car and a driver. My identity was my call sign, and I traveled in a car with a GPS locator and a vetted driver. The special treatment made me feel foolish and embarrassed. It set me apart and hindered my adjustment to the local culture.  

But an incident on the way to town one day highlighted how equal we all are in our need for God’s protection. Heavy traffic came to a standstill in both directions as gunfire erupted all around us. Hundreds of shoppers from a local market filled the streets. “Ma’am,” my driver said, “I can’t go forward, and I can’t turn around. We’ll just have to wait for the danger to pass.” It did pass eventually.  

It turns out the local police were clearing the market of illegal activity. But at that moment, with all my preparation and security precautions in place, there was nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. I was just as vulnerable as everyone else.  

David was a mighty warrior in a league all his own, and yet he expresses this same vulnerability in Psalm 57. He placed his trust in the Lord to protect him from Saul’s pursuit.  

No matter who we are, the one person we can trust when threatened is the one who holds our fate and future in His hands. We can seek refuge in the shadow of His wings until the danger passes.  

“You are loved with an everlasting love,” that’s what the Bible says, “and underneath are the everlasting arms.” – Elisabeth Elliot