If God promises to protect me, then why do I get hurt? - Protection - TouchPoints

Job 36:15“By means of their suffering, he rescues those who suffer. For he gets their attention through adversity.”

Psalm 22:24He has not ignored or belittled the suffering of the needy. He has not turned his back on them, but has listened to their cries for help.

Psalm 126:5-6Those who plant in tears will harvest with shouts of joy. They weep as they go to plant their seed, but they sing as they return with the harvest.

Suffering is not a sign that God doesn’t care; it is simply a fact of life in this fallen world. If God took away everyone’s suffering, we would not need him or desire heaven. More significantly, we would probably follow God for a magic cure rather than our need for salvation. Some suffering is for reasons we will not know this side of eternity, such as an auto accident or an illness. Some is a consequence of neglect, failure, or sin—our own or someone else’s. Suffering is a universal experience, and God uses it to draw people to him. While the Bible never promises a life free from pain, it does assure us that God is with us in our pain and that for those who believe in him, all pain will one day be gone forever. He protects his people from having to experience pain forever.

Psalm 31:19-20How great is the goodness you have stored up for those who fear you. You lavish it on those who come to you for protection, blessing them before the watching world. You hide them in the shelter of your presence, safe from those who conspire against them. You shelter them in your presence, far from accusing tongues.

Daniel 3:17-18“If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God whom we serve is able to save us. He will rescue us from your power, Your Majesty. But even if he doesn’t, we want to make it clear to you, Your Majesty, that we will never serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up.”

God promises to protect and keep safe those who love him. But the ultimate fulfillment of this promise is in safeguarding our souls so that we will live forever with him. Like Daniel’s friends, we must commit ourselves to obeying God no matter what happens to our earthly bodies to ensure that our eternal bodies will be in the right place with God forever.

Psalm 17:8-15Guard me as you would guard your own eyes. Hide me in the shadow of your wings. . . . When I awake, I will see you face to face and be satisfied.

The psalm writer prayed to God for protection from enemies, yet trusted that his ultimate safety is in God’s hands. Throughout the book of Psalms there are declarations of trust, along with cries of desperation and even complaints over God’s apparent delay in supplying protection. All these mirror our experiences in life. They are honest expressions of our temporary perceptions. Much as the man who said to Jesus, “I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief!” (Mark 9:24), we must acknowledge our doublemindedness before God even as we seek to trust our lives to God’s sovereign and capable hands.

Philippians 4:6-7Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

Through consistent and devoted prayer, you can know the protection of God’s supernatural peace. As Paul makes clear in the context of these verses, this effective approach to all of life is learned over time “as you live in Christ Jesus.” None of us does it perfectly this side of eternity.

Isaiah 31:1-3What sorrow awaits those who look to Egypt for help, trusting their horses, chariots, and charioteers and depending on the strength of human armies instead of looking to the Lord, the Holy One of Israel. In his wisdom, the Lord will send great disaster; he will not change his mind. He will rise against the wicked and against their helpers. For these Egyptians are mere humans, not God! Their horses are puny flesh, not mighty spirits! When the Lord raises his fist against them, those who help will stumble, and those being helped will fall. They will all fall down and die together.

Jeremiah 42:13, 16“If you refuse to obey the Lord your God, and if you say, ‘We will not stay here; . . .’ the very war and famine you fear will catch up to you, and you will die there.”

Isaiah and Jeremiah taught about the relationship between your obedience and the protection of God. Submitting to other powers or people for protection places you outside of God’s immediate protection. Obedience to God will protect you from the consequences of disobedience. For example, obeying God’s command not to cheat will protect you from the embarrassment, loss of friendships, fines, and potential jail time that can come from cheating.