God’s Protection

I love you, LORD; you are my strength. The LORD is my rock, my fortress, and my savior; my God is my rock, in whom I find protection. He is my shield, the power that saves me, and my place of safety.

Psalm 18:1-2

LOOK AT THAT collection of terms related to security: “strength,” “rock,” “fortress,” “savior,” “shield,” “power,” and “place of safety.” Pretty amazing list, isn’t it? Do all those words really describe the God we love and worship?

A Christian in the early church, persecuted and pursued, sought shelter and a hiding place. He came upon a cave and took refuge inside. He watched the entrance. There, a spider began weaving a web, right across the mouth of the cave. When his pursuers came, they saw the spider web and moved on, thinking that if the one they were pursuing was in there, he would have broken it going in.

Not everything in life goes perfectly. But when you think of the times you have faced real danger or enemy forces, how many times did you find that God was there, a close friend, a surrounding fortress?

In the ancient world, a fortress was just about the only safe place in the land. Marauding hordes, armies of the night, bandits, robber gangs—all of them roamed about, looking for victims.

But for believers, God is the fortress that surrounds us wherever we are—in the car, at home, on the street, in the darkness of night. God is there. Trust him.