Consider This: God's Provision and Protection

“The Lord God is a sun and a shield” (Psalm 84:11).

The sun provides light, heat, and energy, and it promotes growth. A shield provides safety and protection. Describing God as a sun and a shield is appropriate because he provides and protects.

However, someone reading this is thinking, “God is not much of a provider because I still do not have what I need!” Others are wondering, “If God is such a great protector, why am I going through all this trouble?” Is scripture wrong? No, but we need to understand how God provides and protects.

First, God provides daily, not all at once. Think about the Israelites during the Exodus. God provided food in the form of manna, but that manna had to be collected every day (Exodus 16:4-5). It was not able to be stored. The blessing came one day at a time.

Similarly, it is unlikely that God will unload the spiritual blessing dump truck on you. Like so many before us such as Noah, Abraham, Joseph and even the apostles, we must wait on God’s timing. It is not that God cannot provide. He just has not yet.

Secondly, God protects us “in” our troubles, not “from” them. A shield does not stop the arrows from flying, rather, it keeps you safe from their harm. God never said that he would prevent trouble from happening. In fact, Jesus said the exact opposite. “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). God’s protection is about peace within the trouble, not a complete absence of difficult events.

The end goal of God’s provision and protection is not that we would have a magic formula to make life easy but that we would learn to trust him. He wants us to live today and to stop brooding over the past or fretting about the future. He is watching. He knows us. He has a plan. Nothing is out of control.

God is providing and protecting! Trust that for your strength today.

“This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it!” (Psalm 118:24)

Comments

The Art of Noticing.... Seeing what we need to see and what we miss when we don't

What we focus on in life matters. Here are some scriptural reminders that will help us see correctly. https://youtu.be/Rn76tV0ZH8s

Consider This.... Which Way Are You Leaning?

When Ben Patterson agreed to join three friends climbing Mount Lyell, the highest point in Yosemite National Park, he did not realize what he was signing up for. Early in the day, it became clear that he was completely unprepared for the task. In an effort to keep up with his more experienced friends, Ben took a shortcut. It did not occur to him that there might be a reason the others had not selected this route, but he soon found out why. Ben became stuck on the glacier. He could not move up, down or sideways and one wrong move would send him sliding down a forty-five-degree slope to the valley floor miles below. That is when one of his friends came to the rescue. His buddy leaned over the edge and carved some footholds in the ice. He told Ben to step to the first foothold and immediately swing his other foot to the second, then his buddy would pull him to safety. Lastly, his friend gave him one more piece of advice....

Consider This: Press The Button!

Consider This: Press the Button! My favourite TV game show is Jeopardy. I used to like it even more when my kids were younger, because I could easily beat them and look smart. These days, after they have grown up and gone to university, it is much more difficult. However, Jeopardy is still the only game show I will watch. In a book I read, a contestant who did very well on the show shared the secret to his success. He said (and I am paraphrasing here), “You must press the button before you know the answer. Everyone on Jeopardy is smart. Everyone knows the answer. The key to winning is to act. You must jump in and press the button, assuming that your brain will catch up and supply the answer. If you wait until you are sure, you will be too late!” Press the button! Too often, we hesitate, not because we do not know what to do, but because we do not want to do it. Sometimes, we fail to act because we are not sure how the situatio...

Consider this

Subscribe

Get new posts by email:

Search This Blog