In the late 90s, Jan and I were visiting missionaries in Tirana, Albania. We attended a Sunday church service held in a large multi-story government building. Outside, unknown to us, was a large crowd estimated by CNN to be over 30,000 people. They were protesting over financial mishandling, which had caused people to lose their meager investments.

As the anger of the crowd reached a high pitch, we began to hear machine gun fire while the thick windows of the building were broken by rocks thrown by the protesters. Increasing levels of violence surrounded us. 

All of us in attendance for the church service stood and positioned ourselves around the meeting room walls as we held hands and prayed. One man began to read Psalm 91 as we tried to gather our emotions and find a way to escape. What struck me about Psalm 91 was the opening verse, “Those who live in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty. This I declare about the Lord: He alone is my refuge, my place of safety” (vs. 1).

When that verse was being read, a strange calm came to Jan and me. That calming was because we had no other option but to trust God for our escape. That trust did not come from our theological position or some act of bravado in the face of danger. It came because all our options of escape had been removed and trusting God was our only remaining option. As we stood in the shelter of the Lord’s protective wings, a calming rest came over us. 

As Psalm 91 was read, government agents dressed in long trench coats appeared and told us what to do to escape.  Two by two we were escorted over broken glass and debris to an exit away from the angry crowd to return to the mission center where we were staying.

Trusting God is always the first step in any escape. When violence and evil are afoot and surround us, knowing where we stand in Christ in times of turmoil and fear is our most critical realization. Our posture of trust will reveal our way of escape. 

As our world becomes increasingly more unstable, it can feel like we’re surrounded by the same kind of violence Jan and I experienced in Tirana, where there appears to be no visible way of escape. The more dangerous our world appears, that danger will become an opportunity to trust God in deeper ways.

When we feel the most helpless and vulnerable, each of us who believes in the Lord already stands under the protective wings of the Almighty. Our first step in our escape is to reaffirm our position in the Lord and give Him the reins of our future. We are never alone in times of danger. No expression of violence dictates our destiny. God alone is our refuge, our place of safety. That truth is where we must focus our thoughts. It’s where we will find a place of safety as the Lord reveals our way of escape.