“The Lord preserves the faithful…”

Flight 19 was supposed to be an ordinary training run. It was anything but. Almost 3 months to the day after World War 2 officially ended, 5 TBM Avenger Torpedo Bombers departed the U.S. Naval Air Station, Ft. Lauderdale, FL for an advanced overwater navigation training and bombing flight. The lead pilot was a qualified training instructor, while the other pilots had 350-400 hours of flight experience, 55 of which had been with the TBM type of plane. Within two hours of their departure, intercepted radio messages between the pilots indicated that the entire group was lost, and that their compasses were unable to read true north. Radio contact died shortly thereafter, and no trace of the planes was ever found again, even after 5 days of exhaustive searching by every available ship and plane. In fact, one of the search planes disappeared after takeoff the same day as the Flight 19 group, never to be seen or heard from again.

Such strange events in the western Atlantic gave birth to the mystery of the Bermuda Triangle, sometimes called the Devil’s Triangle. Its apexes are the island of Bermuda, the Ft. Lauderdale-Miami coastal area, and San Juan, Puerto Rico. This is one of only two places in the entire world where magnetic compasses do not point to true north, but to magnetic north, a variation of about 20 degrees. (The other, off the east coast of Japan, is called “The Devil’s Sea” by Filipino and Japanese fisherman.) Other factors like the strong Gulf Stream ocean current, some of the world’s deepest ocean floor trenches and unpredictable weather formations add to the complications of navigating air or sea craft in the frequently traveled area.

Psalm 31 describes a life that could approach manning such a craft in the Bermuda Triangle. Consider: “[Y]ou saw my affliction and knew the anguish of my soul. You have not handed me over to the enemy but have set my feet in a spacious place. Be merciful to me, O Lord, for I am in distress; my eyes grow weak with sorrow, my soul and my body with grief. My life is consumed by anguish and my years by groaning; my strength fails because of my affliction, and my bones grow weak. Because of all my enemies, I am the utter contempt of my neighbors; I am a dread to my friends—those who see me on the street flee from me. I am forgotten by them as though I were dead; I have become like broken pottery. For I hear the slander of many; there is terror on every side; they conspire against me and plot to take my life” (vs. 7b-13). Whether fleeing real human enemies, like David fled from Saul’s troops seeking his death, or escaping the raging winds and waves of the ocean, the end result could easily and quickly be the same. One wrong move, one wrong turn and all could be lost in a heartbeat.

That is where the preserver comes in. If you fall off your boat or your plane lands in the water and you survive the impact, the first thing you want to have is your life preserver. This device has one purpose: keeping you afloat. That’s it. Nothing fancy, nothing stylish, just meeting a very specific and critical need. That is what David found in the Lord, and that is what he records: “How great is your goodness, which you have stored up for those who fear you, which you bestow in the sight of men on those who take refuge in you. In the shelter of your presence you hide them from the intrigues of men; in your dwelling you keep them safe from accusing tongues. Praise be to the Lord, for he showed his wonderful love to me when I was in a besieged city. In my alarm I said, ‘I am cut off from your sight!’ Yet you heard my cry for mercy when I called to you for help. Love the Lord, all his saints! The Lord preserves the faithful…” (vs. 19-23a). God preserved David’s life, and he lived to see God’s will accomplished in his life.

We find a similar text in Hebrews 11:32-35a about men and women of faith that were rescued and preserved by the power of God working amazingly, if not miraculously, in their midst. The rest of the chapter, however, ends differently, with similar personages facing what appears to be defeat: “tortured… chained…sawed in two…put in prison…put to death by the sword…persecuted and mistreated…wandered in deserts…yet none of them received what they had been promised” (vs. 35-39). However, not a single one of them, when entering the majestic glories of heaven, ever said that their suffering wasn’t worth it. No, God preserved even them for their moment when they gained “a better resurrection” (v. 35), a more glorious reward. Even in death, heaven’s gateway for believers, God is always and ever our preserver.

God is the preserver of every one that belongs to him. What is God preserving you for?