Who's Protection?

The above photo is by far one of my favorite that I have ever taken. My wife likes it a lot as well. She had always talked about how it would be one of those great pictures with a piece of scripture underneath it. So, for one of her birthday's, I had it matted and framed with the scripture from Matthew 7:14 - "But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it." (NIV). And as I look at the photo now, I think the scripture kind of fits, but isn't an exact match.

However, as I look at the photo now, it reminds me a bit of the human condition. Now before I go into that, I think a little background on the photo is in order. We were living in Chicago at the time, and I had gone out to take some pictures of the skyline and the lakeshore. I noticed as I was walking out a storm rolling in, which to start did not look bad. So I kept moving forward. I got to a point where the storm front got nice and dark right over the skyline of Chicago (Hancock and Sears Tower) and even caught a couple of lightning strikes. I was pretty excited, but decided that with a big metal tripod it would be a good idea for me to head back. Unfortunately I hadn't realized how far away I had gone.

I started walking at a very brisk pace in an effort to get to safety before the rain poured down. I didn't make it, and having forgotten an umbrella proceeded to get quite soaked. Luckily my camera bag was waterproof (or at least very water resistant)! Anyway, after getting thoroughly soaked I finally found a tunnel under Lakeshore Dr. that I could wait the rest of the storm out.

Once it had subsided back to a sprinkle, I decided to continue back home. And all was uneventful until I got to the tunnel under Lakeshore that lead to my home. As I came down the steps, I was greeted by the photo you have at the top. When I took the picture, I was just struck by the lonely man walking in the tunnel and the glow of the lights.

Back to the human condition. This photo reminds me of how big and powerful God is, and how little and weak we are. Look at the contrast of ideas here. The man is walking down a tunnel, completely protected from the elements, with his umbrella up.

When the storm was at its worst, I went looking for a tunnel to hide out in and be protected from the rain and weather. In fact, had the storm become extremely severe, it was probably one of the safest places to be.

God is there for us, and even in the midst of the biggest storms in our lives He is there for us. Providing shelter for us. Giving us a place to hunker down and find protection from the storm.

But how often are we like the man with the umbrella. How often do we rely on our own tiny, feeble form of protection from the storm. Even when God is offering up that protection for us already. Almost as if we think God's protection might fail and we have to have our own protection just in case.

Just remember, in the midst of the storm, find a tunnel. Seek the protection of the God who does not fail. Don't rely on the weak and wimpy umbrella that can easily be torn apart by a large gust of wind.