God's Protection

Because of man’s sin and the subsequent curse that poisoned the perfection of God’s creation, the world is often a dangerous place. People suffer every day from natural disasters, crime, car accidents, poor health, and more. It’s natural to seek protection from the pain and sorrow of life. Does the Bible promise us the protection of God when we become part of His eternal family?

It is important to understand that there is God’s physical protection and spiritual protection. Spiritual protection, meaning, regardless of our future sins or the schemes of Satan, we will never lose the salvation God has granted (2 Timothy 1:12). There is nothing that can ever separate us from God’s love (Romans 8:38–39). In addition, we are given freedom from the dominion of sin—we are no longer slaves to sinful thoughts, desires, and actions, but are born into a new life of holiness (Romans 6:22). Throughout our lives, God will continue to “guard [our] hearts and [our] minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:7), providing the strength, peace, and perseverance we need to make it through any test or trial. His Spirit grows in us fruit that will strengthen our Christian walk (Galatians 5:22–23), and He provides us with powerful tools with which we can fend off the enemy’s spiritual attacks (Ephesians 6:10–17).

But there is absolutely nothing wrong with asking for and believing for physical protection from God. But always keeping in mind, but not letting it affect our faith, that sometimes things happen to true believers.

Every day one of the things I always pray for is for God’s protection. I say, "Lord I ask for your protection over my family, friends, and for believers." The other day I just narrowly missed being hit by a car flying across all lanes of the highway I was driving on. God's protection? I'm believing it was!

Does God promise to protect us all the time? Sometimes God allows things to happen that we don’t understand. I would like to also remind you that most of the time God protects us without us even knowing, without you even seeing it coming.

For example, you choose not to take your usual route to go to work one day and when you finally get to work you find out that there was a huge 10 car accident, which could have been you. God sees what we don’t see. 

What father doesn’t protect their child even when their child doesn’t know any better? God protects us when we try to do our own thing. God can see what we can’t see. Picture a baby on a bed who is constantly trying to jump off. The baby can’t see, but his father can see.

He can hurt himself if he falls off, so his father grabs him and blocks him from falling off. 

Sometimes we get disappointed when things don’t go our way and wonder, "God why don’t you open this door?" Why didn’t that relationship last? Why did this happen to me? God sees what we can’t see, and He is going to protect us whether we like it or not. If only you knew. Sometimes we ask for things that would end up harming us if God answered our way. God is faithful! We must trust that He knows what He is doing.

God protects you daily and you don’t even know it…

Psalm 121:7-8… The LORD keeps you from all harm and watches over your life. The LORD keeps watch over you as you come and go, both now and forever.

Psalm 34:20… For the LORD protects the bones of the righteous; not one of them is broken!
Psalm 121:3… He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber.

Why should we fear when the Lord is for us?

Psalm 3:5…  I lay down and slept, yet I woke up in safety, for the LORD was watching over me.

Psalm 27:1… By David. The LORD delivers and vindicates me! I fear no one! The LORD protects my life! I am afraid of no one!

Deuteronomy 31:6…  Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.

Here are a few more Scripture verses for you to use in your prayer time. Declare them over your life!

Isaiah 54:17 … No weapon that is fashioned against you shall succeed, and you shall confute every tongue that rises against you in judgment. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord and their vindication from me, declares the Lord.”

Psalm 91:1-16… He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness is a shield and buckler. You will not fear the terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day, ...

Psalm 46:1… God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

Deuteronomy 31:6… Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.”

2 Thessalonians 3:3… But the Lord is faithful. He will establish you and guard you against the evil one.

Isaiah 41:10… Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

Psalm 138:7… Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you preserve my life; you stretch out your hand against the wrath of my enemies, and your right hand delivers me.

Proverbs 18:10… The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous man runs into it and is safe.

Psalm 32:7… You are a hiding place for me; you preserve me from trouble; you surround me with shouts of deliverance. 

Psalm 5:11… But let all who take refuge in you rejoice; let them ever sing for joy, and spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may exult in you.

2 Samuel 22:3-4… My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold and my refuge, my savior; you save me from violence. I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised, and I am saved from my enemies.

Psalm 121:7-8… The Lord will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life. The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore.

My prayer is that the above has helped you in knowing and experiencing His Divine Protection. I included a video below that will help bolster your faith in this area. It's a teaching I did that teaches us about Psalm 91 - Divine Protection.

We are living in a crazy world right now! It's hard to watch too much news as it is filled with so much chaos that is going on in our nation. We have to deal with the storms of life sometimes in our normal everyday life, but now all this that's going on in the world is trying to add more unrest and steal our peace. So how to do we find the answers and encouragement for these times... We go to the Word of God! 

There are great Scripture verses about peace in God's Word, one of those being Philippians 4:6-7.  In Philippians 4:7 we have a wonderful promise: “The peace of God, which passes all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” It's important to note the context of this promise, because that’s where we find the condition: “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God” (verse 6). God’s peace is promised to guard those who pray—with thanksgiving—about everything. This peace will transcend our ability to understand it.

The believer who places his or her full confidence in a loving God and is thankful in every circumstance will possess a supernatural peace. An inner calm will dominate the heart. The faithful believer will know peace—his heart and mind are “guarded” by it—despite the tempest raging without. No one, especially those outside of Christ, will be able to fathom that peace. To most, it will remain a mystery how someone can be so serene in the midst of turmoil.

The peace that comes from being in a right relationship with God is not the peace of this world. The world’s peace depends on having favorable circumstances: if things are going well, then we feel peaceful; when things go awry, the peace quickly dissipates. Jesus made the distinction between His peace and the world’s vacillating peace: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives” (John 14:27).

GOD IS PEACE

If God is peace, then to know God is to bask in His peace. The closer we draw to Him, the more of His peace we can enjoy (James 4:8). God gives us clear instructions about how to draw near to Him. Psalm 24:3–4 says, “Who may ascend the mountain of the Lord? Who may stand in his holy place? The one who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not trust in an idol or swear by a false god.” But Scripture is also clear that we cannot make ourselves clean enough or pure enough to earn the presence of the Lord (Romans 3:10, 23). So how do we draw near enough to experience His peace? We come into the presence of the Lord through His Son (John 14:6). When we allow Jesus’ death and resurrection to purchase our forgiveness from God, we are counted as righteous (2 Corinthians 5:21). Our sins are forgiven because Jesus already paid the price for them. Only then can we have peace with God (Romans 4:5; 5:1; 1 John 4:10).
 

When we grow in understanding of the depths and riches of God’s love toward us (Ephesians 3:18–19; Romans 8:38–39), our minds and spirits begin to rest in His power and wisdom. We begin to understand that He really will make all things work together for our good (Romans 8:28). We learn that His purposes will be accomplished (Psalm 33:11; Proverbs 19:21; Isaiah 45:9; 46:9–11).
 

WE MUST TRUST GOD IN EVERY CIRCUMSTANCE

Trust means we have set our hearts to believe God, whatever may happen. When we insist on being in control, we sabotage God’s desire to let us live in peace. When we choose worry rather than faith, we cannot live in peace. Jesus warned us often about fear and worry (Matthew 6:34; Luke 12:29; Philippians 4:6). Worry is the enemy of peace. God invites us to cast our cares upon Him and then let go of them (1 Peter 5:7).
 

When we develop a lifestyle of making the Lord our refuge, we begin to live in the peace of God (Psalm 46:1; 62:8). Psalm 91:1 holds the secret to living in the peace of God: “He that dwells in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.” That secret place in our hearts is where we go to meet with God. When we choose to live there and hide away under His shadow, staying in constant communion with Him, we can remain peaceful, even when circumstances may not be. When we learn to cry out to Him in times of trouble, we find that His peace really does pass all human understanding (Philippians 4:7).

To learn more about Psalm 91 and the peace that is promised in life, go to the video above titled, "The Benefits of Abiding" and I believe you will get further encouragement on how to live in peace when everything around us seems to be falling apart! LIVE IN PEACE!

Throughout my decades of serving the Lord, I have continuously seen God provide for me in many ways. He has always been there and will always be there. I have great hope and faith in the knowledge that God is my great Provider! I want to teach just a little bit about provision. I want you to get a clear biblical perspective of what it means that God provides… because it’s not just about money or possessions.

There are at least 169 verses in the Bible that refer to the ways God provides for us. Philippians 4:19 puts it simply: “My God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” While prosperity seekers might always be looking for money or possessions to miraculously arrive, it's not all about that, so we should take a closer look at what God desires to provide for us.

Like any good parent, God would never give us what He knows would harm us. His intent is to help us develop Christlikeness so that we become salt and light in the world (Matthew 5:13–14). God does not want us to see Him as a heavenly source of mere material possessions. Acquiring things is not the fundamental goal of this life (Luke 12:15).

God differentiates between our needs and our wants because He knows that where our treasure is our heart is also (Matthew 6:21). He wants us to know that this world is not our home and that part of what we need is to shift our focus to the eternal life while still living this one.

God is concerned with every part of our being: spirit, soul, and body. As the facets of His character are infinite, so the ways God provides for us are beyond anything we can ask or imagine (Ephesians 3:20). We can trust His goodness, guidance, and shepherding care to do more for us than we could ever achieve on our own. God provides a way for us to develop an intimate, conversational, obedient relationship with Him so that we can lead ourselves and others into a “Psalm 23” quality of life. Those whose shepherd is the Lord can say, “I lack nothing” (Psalm 23:1).

In the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus teaches His disciples to ask for provision, and our dependence on God is affirmed each time we pray, “Give us this day our daily bread” (Matthew 6:11). In Matthew 6:24–25, Jesus tells His disciples not to worry about food or clothing. The Father knows our needs. He desires covenant relationship with us, and that involves trusting Him to meet our daily requirements and seeking first His kingdom and righteousness (Matthew 6:33).

Psalm 84:11 states, “No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly.” This verse carries a reminder that there is a part we play in God’s provision coming to fruition in our lives. We must walk uprightly.

Many passages about God’s provision relate to our need for food and clothing and the daily, physical needs of life. Others refer to the needs of our soul and spirit, our inner man. He provides us with peace (John 14:27), comfort (2 Corinthians 1:4), and “power, love and self-discipline” (2 Timothy 1:7). In fact, He “has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ” (Ephesians 1:3). In whatever physical state we find ourselves, we can be content in the Lord (Philippians 4:12). This a great truth that I have learned in my journey with Christ.

Passages such as Galatians 1:15 and Jeremiah 1:5 give us an assurance that God’s love and direction began even before conception. What a gift to know that God has been involved in our lives from the very start! His love for us is encompassed in His desire for our highest good. He is truly Jehovah-Jireh, the Lord-Who-Provides.

God’s provision extends to His ongoing relationship to all of His creation, which is deeply dependent on Him (Psalm 104:21). Often, we take for granted the rain that falls, the sun that comes up every morning, the refreshing winds that blow, and the tides that cleanse our shores and invigorate the life in our vast oceans. But all these things are watched over by our loving God in His provision for us.

So, rejoice today, be in peace today, because God’s got this! He knows what you need, and He knows how to get to you exactly what you need when you need it in every area of your life!