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It is not because of the winter season that the tall trees in the photograph are bare. No, they are dead, still standing in the aftermath of Hurricane Ivan in 2004, a testimony to the fragility and the uncertainly of life on our planet. As the new year opens we find our security, not in governments, wealth, health, or even the solidity of the ground beneath us — but only in our God, who holds us and sustains us, who brings life out of death and good out evil.
The eternal God is your dwelling place, and underneath are the everlasting arms. (Deuteronomy 33:27 RSV)