Ultimate Security: Finding a Refuge in Difficult Times
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Authors: Derek Prince
Introduction: Security—a Basic Human Concern
15. Hope as a Refuge and an Anchor
17. The Door to the Secret Place
18. Protection Against Fear and Worry
19. Protection Against Discouragement and Depression
20. Protection Against Criticism and Misrepresentation
23. Security Through Doing God’s Will
Publisher’s Note
: This book was compiled from the extensive archive of Derek Prince’s unpublished materials and approved by the Derek Prince Ministries editorial team.
Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the
Holy Bible,
New International Version
®
,
niv
®
, © 1973, 1978 by the International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked (
nasb
) are taken from the updated
New American Standard Bible
®
,
nasb
®
, © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. (www.Lockman.org). Scripture quotation marked (
tlb
) is taken from
The Living Bible
, © 1971. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked (
nkjv
) are taken from the
New King James Version
, © 1979, 1980, 1982, 1984 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked (
kjv
) are taken from the King James Version of the Holy Bible. Scripture quotations marked (
rsv
) are taken from the
Revised Standard Version of the Bible
, © 1946, 1952, 1971 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scripture quotation translated by Weymouth is taken from
The New Testament in Modern Speech
by Richard Francis Weymouth, © 1996 by Kenneth Copeland Publications, Fort Worth, Texas. All rights reserved.
Boldface type in the Scripture quotations indicates the author’s emphasis.
Ultimate Security:
Finding a Refuge in Difficult Times
Derek Prince Ministries–International
P.O. Box 19501
Charlotte, North Carolina 28219-9501
www.derekprince.org
ISBN: 978-1-62911-166-7 • eBook ISBN: 978-1-62911-167-4
Printed in the United States of America
© 2014 by Derek Prince Ministries–International
Whitaker House
1030 Hunt Valley Circle
New Kensington, PA 15068
www.whitakerhouse.com
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Prince, Derek.
Ultimate security : finding a refuge in difficult times / Derek Prince.
pages cm
Summary: “Addressing the universal question ‘Where can I find true security?’ author Derek Prince points readers to the Source that can give them total and permanent security—in this life and for eternity”
—Provided by publisher.
ISBN 978-1-62911-166-7 (trade pbk. : alk. paper) — ISBN 978-1-62911-167-4 (ebook) 1. Salvation—Christianity. 2. Faith. 3. Assurance (Theology) I. Title.
BT751.3.P75 2014
234—dc23
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical—including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system—without permission in writing from the publisher. Please direct your inquiries to [email protected].
This book has been digitally produced in a standard specification in order to ensure its availability.
INTRODUCTION
SECURITY—A BASIC HUMAN CONCERN
W
here can I find security?
People everywhere ask themselves this question—regardless of their nationality, culture, or socioeconomic status. The languages they use to express the question vary. But the question of where to find security is the same for all people. We all are concerned with obtaining security. It is a universal quest. In fact, a major part of human activity is directed toward this end
.
Security Agencies
One way to estimate the importance people attach to a pursuit is to measure how much they are willing to spend for it. In our contemporary culture, there are numerous agencies, industries, and organizations devoted in some way to providing security—involving the expenditure of countless billions of dollars every year.
Let’s consider just a few such agencies and organizations. First, there are insurance companies. They do a tremendous job, but their scope is limited. You can insure yourself against an accident, but there is no way to ensure that an accident will not happen. You can insure your home or business against fire and theft, but there is no way to be completely certain a fire will not break out or a theft will not take place. So, insurance companies can guarantee some protections against adverse circumstances, but other situations remain outside their control.
Then there are both public and private security agencies. Public security forces include national, state, and local law enforcement officers. As we all know, a whole new industry has arisen for providing security in airports. Also, there are countless private security agencies whose numbers are multiplying every year. Yet, in spite of the fine work of many of these agencies, it is a sad fact that crimes of violence and acts of terrorism continue to increase. This is not a criticism of these agencies, but rather a confirmation that there are limits to what security agencies can achieve.
Security Forces
Another type of security in our world today is represented by the armed forces of a nation,
—
such as the army, the navy, and the air force. Every country claims to maintain its armed forces for its own security. In many cases, this is probably true. However, these forces do not provide total security.
For example, consider the military forces of the United States and the Soviet Union during the Cold War years. The stronger the security forces of the Soviet Union, the greater the insecurity of the American people. And the stronger the security forces of the United States, the greater the insecurity of the Soviet people. It is a simple equation: What constitutes security for one nation may automatically be a source of insecurity for another nation.
Social Security
There is also what we call “social security.” Under this term, I include various governmental programs that have collectively become a major element in the life of nearly all Western nations. This “cradle-to-grave security” is a system by which resources for every major need arising in the life of a normal person will be provided by his government. If he gets sick, his medical expenses, including any hospitalization costs, will be covered. When he becomes too old and weak to work, he will receive an income to cover his needs. Unfortunately, shaky economic conditions are already deflating some of the claims of “social security.”
Interestingly enough, various nations have achieved a very high degree of efficiency in their social-security systems. Two examples are Sweden and Denmark, which have marvelous social-security programs. Unfortunately, the provisions of those systems are matched by extremely high taxes.
It is also interesting to note that, even in the earlier years of the provision of such security, Sweden and Denmark were statistically ranked as two of the nations with the highest suicide rate in the world. What does that fact indicate? That even social security does not provide total security. Here were people who theoretically had all their obvious physical and financial needs cared for. Yet these same people somehow could not face life; rather, they opted for the alternative of suicide. Again, this is evidence that there is no such thing as “complete security” based on social programs.
Is Total Security Possible?
Many of the above entities that attempt to provide security are very worthwhile. They are to be commended and supported. However, none of them has achieved—nor can it achieve—either total or permanent security. Not only are there many areas in which those entities cannot provide security, but even in those areas in which they can provide a modicum of security, the scope of that security is limited by time and circumstances.
Therefore, since a basic drive of human existence is to seek security, it seems important to consider this question:
Where can I find
true
security?
In considering that question, I have come to one striking conclusion: In spite of all man’s efforts and expenditures, he is ultimately powerless to achieve true security. Furthermore, I believe that the only hope of achieving real security is to admit this conclusion from the start—to face the fact that any man-made agency is ultimately powerless to bring security.
If that indeed is the case, we cannot build our lives and our hopes on any entity that provides only the illusion of real security. But there is a Source that can provide us with total and permanent security. That Source is the focus of this book,
Ultimate Security: Finding a Refuge in Difficult Times
.
1
THE TRUE SOURCE
Having accepted the conclusion of the introduction to this book—that no human agency can provide anything other than an illusion of real security—where do we turn? Thankfully, there is another Source of security—one that is completely different in its nature and in the type of security it offers. This alternative can provide both total and permanent security. What is this Source? It is God, in whom are found all wisdom and provision.