The Great Protector

In the last few weeks we’ve had some crazy things happen. Both of our cars have been in accidents to the point they have to be in the shop to get repaired. In between the accidents, we came home from dinner one night to find the center beam in our living room had fallen. In each of these cases, things could have been much worse than they were. A friend remarked, “Can you imagine if that beam had fallen a few days earlier at the birthday party?” Times like these can easily instill fear if we think about what could have happened. Instead, we have chosen to focus on the goodness of God in protecting us in each situation, preventing things from being worse.

When the Israelites left Egypt, they appeared defenseless. They had no walls or weapons really. They looked vulnerable as the wandered through the desert in between cities and countries. I’m sure there was the temptation to have fear as well. Moses kept his trust in the Lord though. He penned Psalm 91 during this time as a reassurance to himself and the people of God’s ability to protect. In the psalm, there are affirmations written by Moses and spoken by God that let them and us know how God is active in watching over us as a great protector. We don’t have to fear when bad things are happening.

In verse 15, God says, “I will answer your cry for help every time you pray, and you will feel my presence in your time of trouble. I will deliver you and bring you honor” (TPT). He doesn’t put us in a bubble so that trouble won’t come near us. Instead, He invites us to call on Him when danger is all around us. He promises us that we will feel His presence so we will know He is near us walking with us in those times. It’s easy to look at the danger and to focus on it, but God calls us to trust Him instead. He is our great protector keeping things from being worse than they could be, drawing us closer to Him and elevating us through the process.

Photo by Todd Trapani on Unsplash