Safe and secure


I’ll split my sharing for this post into a couple of parts:


(a) Trouble is inevitable but ONLY God can provide absolutely certain protection


(b) God needs to protect us from ourselves


(c) God uses the church to protect us


Trouble is inevitable but God's protection is certain


Psalm 91 is one of the most popular parts of the Bible – it speaks of God’s benevolent protection over those whom He loves. But why do bad things still happen to us? God WILL protect us, but this does not mean there will not be trouble. Psalm 91:14-15 says:


"Because he loves me," says the LORD,"I will rescue him;
I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.
He will call upon me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble,
I will deliver him and honor him."


Clearly, there is no rescue if there is no danger. There is no protection without harm. There is no deliverance without crisis. God says he will be with us IN TROUBLE.


But BECAUSE WE LOVE HIM, He WILL rescue, He WILL protect, He WILL answer, He WILL be with us and He WILL deliver and honor us. In fact, we know that even BEFORE we had a chance to love and know Him, He came to rescue us!


Psalm 91:1-2 also says:
"He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will rest in the shadow of the Almighty
I will say of the LORD, "He is my refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust."


From these two verses, we can see that He who promises that He WILL provide all-encompassing protection is the Most High, the Almighty, the LORD, and God! He is certainly able to provide the protection He promises!


In contrast, the Bible also says in Isaiah 30:1-5
"Woe to the obstinate children,
declares the LORD,
to those who carry out plans that are not mine,
forming an alliance, but not by my Spirit,
heaping sin upon sin;
who go down to Egypt
without consulting me
who look for help to Pharoah’s protection,
to Egypt’s shade for refuge.
But Pharoah’s protection will be to your shame,
Egypt’s shade will bring you disgrace.
Though they have officials in Zoan
And their envoys have arrived in Hanes,
everyone will be put to shame
because of a people useless to them,
who bring neither help nor advantage,
But only shame and disgrace."


So, unlike those whom God protects, those who look to men or worldly power to protect them are headed for disaster!


I’m sure that like me, many of you will have felt this way before – preferring to trust in our own thinking, in the protection of men, the accumulation of wealth and influence and worldly thinking. But God warns us that ONLY He is able. So since we have Him, why would we want to rely on anything else?


God needs to protect us from ourselves


My wife and I were discussing the sermon just after service, and we agreed that the most important aspect of God’s protection is God’s protection of us against our own waywardness.
If you remember, the prophet Hosea’s wife was a wayward wife. This was illustrative of Israel’s waywardness towards God himself. But the Bible says in Hosea 2:5-7


"Their mother has been unfaithful
and has conceived them in disgrace.
She said, ‘I will go after my lovers,
who give me my food and my water,
my wool and my linen, my oil and my drink.’
Therefore I will block her way with thornbushes;
I will wall her in so that she cannot find her way.
She will chase after her lovers but not catch them;
she will look for them but not find them
Then she will say,
‘I will go back to my husband as at first,
for then I was better off than now.’"


So when we are chasing after our sinful desires, the best thing that God can do is to fence us in and frustrate our efforts. Only then can we recognize the futility of our lusts and pursuits and turn back to God. Pray for yourself and your loved ones that God will alwus in with his loving protection!


God uses the church to protect us


What is one of the most important ways in which God provides His protection or us? Ephesians 1:22-23 says


"And God placed all things under his [Jesus’] feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way"


Paul says that the church, which is Jesus’ body, is the FULLNESS of Jesus, who fills EVERYTHING in EVERY way. So we, as members of the universal church, and as members of our local church (on Sundays and AT WORK) are instrumental in providing protection, in works and prayer, for each other.


Everyone knows John 3:16. But do you know 1 John 3:16?


…
…
…
…
…


Give up? It says


"This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers."


1 John 3:16 therefore echoes John 3:16 which says God so loved the world that He gave His Son to die for us, and further explains that we should therefore also lay down our lives for our brothers.


James 5:19 also says
"My brothers, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring him back, remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins."


So remember the importance of staying in community, so that you remain under God's protection. We are called not only to BELIEVE, but also to BELONG.


In conclusion, brothers and sisters, be encouraged – trouble is inevitable but God’s protection against the attacks of the evil one and our own foibles is certain. At the same time, look out for your friends, your family and your colleagues, because God has sent YOU to protect them, in your prayers and actions. Conversely, if your fellow Christians come to you with correction, remember that they come upon God’s mission and receive them humbly and with reverence!

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