God’s Protection

Tom Barnard

 

“The Lord is my light and my salvation—so why should I be afraid?

The Lord protects me from danger—so why should I tremble?”

Psalm 27:1 NLT

 

God is my strong salvation,

What foe have I to fear?

My light, my help, is near.

Though hosts encamp around me,

Firm to the fight I stand.

What terror can confound me

With God at my right hand?

James Montgomery

 

Bravery and arrogance are two very different reactions to immanent danger. Arrogance says, “I am equal to this challenge. In my own strength I will be victorious in this fight.” Bravery says, “I have assessed this challenge; it is a serious threat. On my own, I may not be able to be victorious. But with the Lord at my side, the outcome is not in doubt.”

 

Boy David slew the giant Goliath with a hand-made sling and a smooth stone from a brook, while grown men—including his older brothers—cowered in fear at the sight of the huge warrior who taunted Saul’s army to stand and fight. Later, as Israel’s king, David faced threats again. Perhaps he remembered the day he faced Goliath. On that day he didn’t have confidence in his own strength but in the power of the Lord.

 

Do you remember what young David shouted back to the taunts of Goliath? “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel whom you have defied. This day the Lord will hand you over to me, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head. Today I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel” (1 Samuel 17:45, 46). And that is exactly what happened.

 

The battles I fight today are not the battles of my youth. Then my child-like faith didn’t comprehend the full extent of the danger or the limitations of my strength. Today I recognize both. Now survival trumps victory. Never has the presence and power of God been more important. In that strength I now stand.

 

Heavenly Father, as I have grown older I have come to respect my own limitations. And I have come to understand the power of my adversary. If I am to be victor rather than victim, I need your Presence to stand beside me and reassure me that the outcome of this crisis is not in doubt. Calm my fears today, I pray. Teach me to say with the psalmist, “Though a mighty army surrounds me, my heart will know no fear.” Grant me that confidence today. Amen.