ALL ROUND PROTECTION

Hello beautiful people.
One of the daily concerns we have in life is about our safety. A lot of people worry everyday about themselves, their families, friends and loved one. Most people have general concern for their nations as well. Today am going to help you understand how concerned God is about our safety.
They would have two parts in this (part one and two). We would be considering various scriptures from the bible but our text will be taken from the book of Psalms 91.  

PSALMS 91:

1 He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.

2 I will say of the LORD, "He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust."

3 Surely he will save you from the fowler's snare and from the deadly pestilence.

4 He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.

5 You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day,

6 nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday.

7 A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you.

8 You will only observe with your eyes and see the punishment of the wicked.

9 If you make the Most High your dwelling-- even the LORD, who is my refuge-

10 then no harm will befall you, no disaster will come near your tent.

11 For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways;

12 they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.

13 You will tread upon the lion and the cobra; you will trample the great lion and the serpent.

14 "Because he loves me," says the LORD, "I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.

15 He will call upon me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him.

16 With long life will I satisfy him and show him my salvation."

The translation used is the New International Version. I copied the whole chapter here so that we will be able to make reference to it easily. Please feel free to refer to the version you understand better if you want. I might switch versions too for more understanding.

Verse 1
Most of us are aware of asylum seekers. For those who are not, they are people who leave their home countries to seek refuge in a safer country they trust. This is to make an illustration. Off course, we shouldn't live in constant fear of the enemy but if we don't establish our place in Christ, then we are vulnerable and of the world.
Establishing our place in Christ opens our eyes to see the authority God has given us over the entire world and creation. Having this knowledge gives us upper hand over the enemy and allows us to accept God's protection over our lives rendering the enemy powerless.

The people in the world are dearly loved by God but they are blinded from the truth and life in Christ, and this is an be a hindrance. It will be easier to be deceived by the enemy because they don't know the truth. Hence, they are left in bondage and darkness when it shouldn't be that way. We will have to go quickly to verse 4b which says "his truth shall be thy shield and buckler" (king James version). Having the knowledge of who Christ is and believing in him is everything because he is the truth! John 14 vs 6a  Jesus answered "i am the way the truth and the light" Having the knowledge and understanding  of the word of God gives us deep insight of our place in God's Kingdom. John 1 vs 1 says "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God". The word of God is the truth so God is the truth we need.

The Prodigal son from one of the parables of Jesus in the bible (Luke 15 vs 11) was so loved by his father but at some point, he left his father's covering  and became vulnerable to a lot of circumstances which succeeded in bringing him down to nothing. He made the decision to leave his father's covering due to his ignorance. The bible says we shouldn't be ignorant of the devices of the wicked (2 Corinthians 2 vs 11). You may be wondering why his father didn't stop him from leaving, because he was a grown man and has his free will. As much as God loves us we still have the freedom to make our decisions. There is a feeling in which being forced to do something gives even if the result is meant to turn out good. Nobody loves force or the feeling of being held hostage or to feel incapable to decide or to be seen as immature. Rebellion can arise from being forced or threatened as well as fear, complying as a result of fear isn't the best way.  Our drawing nigh to God should be willingly and not as a result of being afraid or being forced. Even before we stray, plan to stray and when we stray, God still cares and loves us. He still speaks to us through various ways and he still fights for us and protect us but during that period he wants us to come to the reality of the truth. God wants to have a special relationship with us and love us and if we have to love God he wants it to be willing from our heart (don't forget you love God because he first loved you, and his love and care for you is by his grace you don't earn it). You can't force someone to love you, if you do then it's not genuine and you will eventually get frustrated. If love has to be special then it has to be willing, from the heart.
When the the prodigal son went back home,  on his way his father saw him first before he saw his father. His father ran to him with compassion. His father was waiting and expecting his return. God will always be waiting for us and once we make that decision sincerely and willingly to come back to him, he will come to us and lead us all the way. God wants us, in fact he sets events to reveal to us that we need to go back to him and then eventually brings us back to him. Sometimes we don't know this.
The Prodigal son acknowledged his mistakes and unworthiness but his father had already forgiven him, he was filled with joy on his return. It is evident when he ran to meet him. God knows we can stray and even when we stray he doesn't hold it against us but the devil takes advantage of that and we should not give the devil a chance. We just need to come back home. 

Once we are home, he will clothe us like the princes that we are.
He will change the rags we had on to royal robes. He will clean the dirt and take away the filth no matter how thick it is on our bodies. We don't need to come to God with something worthy , we don't need to be clean before we come to him, we just need to come the way we are. He will take us in and transform us into his marvellous light and his glory will be revealed through us.
The Prodigal son was ready to work to earn his father's generosity as a servant but his father didn't let him work for it. You can't earn God's love no matter how much you work for it. You just need to believe in Christ totally and be a partaker of everything he offers including protection. When the prodigal son left the father's protection he was vulnerable but when he returned, within few minutes he was shown a lot of love, care and protection.

VERSE 2-4
A fortress is a large place, Castle, stronghold, a place of defense or security. A position that if obtained by the weaker side will prevent penetration by the opposing side. A refuge is a place of safety, protection, or shelter. Synonyms for refuge is haven, sanctuary and zoar. This definition is gotten from the dictionary.

Do you now realise that in Christ and through Christ you are constantly shielded. God's presence is constantly with us. Let's consider the last phrase of verse 2, " in whom I trust". Once God is your shield you can trust him. You can find a security man on duty dozing off maybe because he is tired but God doesn't sleep or slumber. God as a shield is  not shaky or exposed. He is not strong some days and weak or wear off some days. His shield is constant and permanent. Just trust!
When  Peter was walking on the waters looking up to Jesus who was walking on the waters too ( Mathew 14 vs 22-33). He trusted him but when the wind came he was afraid and began to sink.

A common example most people have had is sleeping at night in the dark. At that time of the day, instead of recognising God's presence with them they choose to see the devil in the dark. They believe he is somewhere staring at them or moving towards them. God created the earth and made day and night, night had the lesser light. In fact when he made the earth, the bible says darkness was upon the face of the earth and he spoke light into the earth. After that he separated light from darkness ( read Genesis chapter 1). Because it is dark doesn't make the devil more powerful. God created the earth, in the earth and made day and night he made night dark! I know the devil is constantly associated with darkness but in the case of the devil, it means bondage, blindness, negativity, inferiority and any DARK Trait one can think of. Because we have the knowledge that powers operate at night doesn't mean they don't operate during the day. The God who made the earth, regardless of the time, place or condition is in charge and has given you same power. Christ is seated above principalities, powers and authorities (Ephesians 1 vs 20-21). Even in the dark God sees us very well. Learn to see God in the dark instead of the devil. He doesn't lie, If he has promised to shield us then he does it.  If one believes they are in God's care they will be at rest and sleep comfortably.  If one believes the devil is somewhere around then they are making way for him. One might not be tormented but the fear alone is enough to destabilise them and make them restless. Fear is the devil's weapon. 

Most bullies in School or any environment have a weapon against their victims which is fear. Once the victims realise this themselves and show confidence,  strength comes in and the bully is scared off. Bullies are weak people who derive their sense of belonging or false power from bullying fearful victims, most victims are people with great personalities and potentials but are blinded by fear. They have something the bullies are intimidated by. That is how the devil is. Never let yourself be bullied by Satan.  Even in fear you can call out to God and he will help you. Because you are afraid doesn't mean God will walk away still call on God and believe. Peter cried out to Jesus in fear when he was sinking while walking on the sea and Jesus stretched out his hands and helped him. Afterwards Jesus said " you of little faith. why did you doubt?" We are expected to grow into spiritual maturity as Christians were the constant meditation of the word has left no room for fear.

 
This should not be related to sleeping at night alone but every other area of our lives if Satan chooses to come as the wind to make you afraid and sink. Still look up to Jesus and walk till you get to your destination. The bible says once Jesus saved Peter and they climbed into the boat the wind died! Jesus stills every storm and wind and the devil flees! And he has given us the power to do this too.
The problem lies deeper when we let our fears drive us away from God's shield. Fear drives us away from God's shield by making us think we can protect ourselves or we need to do certain things to protect ourselves. God is capable! There are people who claim to believe in God but have gotten diabolic means of protecting themselves. Another example, one can expect God to provide a need and when it doesn't come in their own time because of the fear and doubt they do things not part of God's will for their lives.

Fear and worry can dominate the mind and that alone can be tormenting and can give one restlessness. It is what the devil does. Meanwhile God's wish for us is PEACE.
Satan doesn't want us to have that. The bible in many places warns against fear. Fear can make one believe the lies of the devil and comply with his ways.

END OF PART 1.