Reason #947
Sometimes it is hard to see God's protection in our lives. Usually, that's because we see it in hindsight. Some things are really hard to explain. And truth be told, so many people are dealing with life or death issues on a daily basis. I know an unfortunate amount of people who are fighting cancer and recovering from major injuries, and with all of the stuff going on in the Middle East, it's just hard to clearly see God's protection. If you're anything like me, you pray for it. Realizing that the world is a dangerous place, I find myself asking God's protection over my loved ones, over God's people, and over myself on a daily basis. And so why do we feel so unsafe? Why do we feel fearful when these things happen? When the things we've asked to be protected come under attack, where is the Lord?
The bible tells us not to fear the one that can kill our body but to fear the one that can kill our body and our soul. And so the easy thing to say is that if you're a child of God, you've got nothing to fear. Your fate has been sealed, and death is only a passage into eternal life. But that's hard to comprehend. It's hard to grasp something you've never experienced. And so we pray that God will protect us from the dangers of life. We pray that He will keep us from harm's way. Yet somehow, harm seems to wiggle its ugly way in and we are all the more eager for God's protection and rescue.
And so while there is no easy answer to this one, while there is no black and white response, God's protection lies in His sovereignty. Nothing that happens to God's children goes unnoticed by Him. In fact, if you belong to Him, nothing happens to you that isn't allowed by God. Wait, what? So God allows bad things to happen? Well, look at Job. Look at Paul. Look at the disciples. Look at Jesus. Bad things happened. But look what good was brought forth from the bad things that happened in their lives. If it weren't for Paul and the disciples, who knows what the church would look today. We certainly wouldn't have most of the New Testament. And if it weren't for Jesus, we wouldn't have hope, forgiveness for our sins, or salvation. If God had rescued them in the ways they had probably expected, well, I don't know where that would leave you and me.
Psalm 34:19 says, "The righteous person faces many troubles, but the Lord comes to the rescue each time." Notice who faces the troubles. The righteous. It doesn't make sense, but then again, it does. Because when people proclaim God's name in the midst of bad situations, how much more of a testament is it than when we only praise Him for the good? Yet the Lord rescues us. It's never the same method, but it's the same promise. And rescue might mean life here, or rescue might mean life in Heaven. But God rescues. He does. And we just have to cling to that truth. We have to believe Him. Sure, it may not come in the form we've asked or expected, but I bet when we get to see the whole picture on the other side of Heaven, it will be obvious. We'll see how He rescued us time and time again. We'll see how He protected us from things we didn't even know were a threat. Because ultimate rescue came in the form of a little baby born in a manger two thousand years ago. And from that silent night, mankind was rescued in the best possible way.
#947 - For His protection and promise to rescue.
"The Lord says, “I will rescue those who love me. I will protect those who trust in my name." - Psalm 91:14
The bible tells us not to fear the one that can kill our body but to fear the one that can kill our body and our soul. And so the easy thing to say is that if you're a child of God, you've got nothing to fear. Your fate has been sealed, and death is only a passage into eternal life. But that's hard to comprehend. It's hard to grasp something you've never experienced. And so we pray that God will protect us from the dangers of life. We pray that He will keep us from harm's way. Yet somehow, harm seems to wiggle its ugly way in and we are all the more eager for God's protection and rescue.
And so while there is no easy answer to this one, while there is no black and white response, God's protection lies in His sovereignty. Nothing that happens to God's children goes unnoticed by Him. In fact, if you belong to Him, nothing happens to you that isn't allowed by God. Wait, what? So God allows bad things to happen? Well, look at Job. Look at Paul. Look at the disciples. Look at Jesus. Bad things happened. But look what good was brought forth from the bad things that happened in their lives. If it weren't for Paul and the disciples, who knows what the church would look today. We certainly wouldn't have most of the New Testament. And if it weren't for Jesus, we wouldn't have hope, forgiveness for our sins, or salvation. If God had rescued them in the ways they had probably expected, well, I don't know where that would leave you and me.
Psalm 34:19 says, "The righteous person faces many troubles, but the Lord comes to the rescue each time." Notice who faces the troubles. The righteous. It doesn't make sense, but then again, it does. Because when people proclaim God's name in the midst of bad situations, how much more of a testament is it than when we only praise Him for the good? Yet the Lord rescues us. It's never the same method, but it's the same promise. And rescue might mean life here, or rescue might mean life in Heaven. But God rescues. He does. And we just have to cling to that truth. We have to believe Him. Sure, it may not come in the form we've asked or expected, but I bet when we get to see the whole picture on the other side of Heaven, it will be obvious. We'll see how He rescued us time and time again. We'll see how He protected us from things we didn't even know were a threat. Because ultimate rescue came in the form of a little baby born in a manger two thousand years ago. And from that silent night, mankind was rescued in the best possible way.
#947 - For His protection and promise to rescue.
"The Lord says, “I will rescue those who love me. I will protect those who trust in my name." - Psalm 91:14
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