The Protection of God
In our last study, we looked at the need for prayer and seeking God’s will so that we can be confident that all things and all problems are within His will for our nation, the church and our individual lives. If we do these things, we are assured that everything that comes into our lives is by the hand of God. Only when we are within God’s will can we be confident of the promise of Romans 8:
28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.
If we are not walking within the purpose He has called us to, we cannot have this confidence.
Walking within His purpose
As we begin to look at the protection of the Lord, let’s look at an example from the life of King Josiah from the Old Testament. The life of this king of Israel provides us with an important truth of following God’s will. King Josiah became king over Israel after the nation had neglected God’s commands for several generations. In fact, the nation had grown so distant from God that the scriptures had been stored away and forgotten completely. God had warned in the law that if Israel departed from God, He would destroy them and drive them out of His land. When Josiah became King he saw the deteriorated temple and commanded that it be restored. When the temple was being repaired, someone found the book of the Law of God. It was brought to the king and read. When Josiah heard the commandments and warnings of God, he tore his clothes and repented for the sins of the nation.
Josiah then found a prophet of God and sent word to inquire of the Lord. God told Josiah that He would severely judge Israel and bring all the warnings written in scriptures against the nation. God said that He would execute His wrath against the nation and nothing could quench it; however, because Josiah humbled himself and repented, God would withhold judgment until after Josiah passed away. 2 Kings 22:
19 "because your heart was tender, and you humbled yourself before the LORD when you heard what I spoke against this place and against its inhabitants, that they would become a desolation and a curse, and you tore your clothes and wept before Me, I also have heard you," says the LORD.
20 "Surely, therefore, I will gather you to your fathers, and you shall be gathered to your grave in peace; and your eyes shall not see all the calamity which I will bring on this place." ’ " So they brought back word to the king.
Even though judgment was eminent, God had mercy on those who honored and obeyed Him. Unfortunately, Josiah took this promise as something that made Him invincible. God kept His word and held back the calamities until after Josiah died, but Josiah stepped outside of God’s will and brought his life to an early end by fighting against God. Look at 2 Chronicles 35:
20 After all this, when Josiah had prepared the temple, Necho king of Egypt came up to fight against Carchemish by the Euphrates; and Josiah went out against him.
21 But he sent messengers to him, saying, "What have I to do with you, king of Judah? I have not come against you this day, but against the house with which I have war; for God commanded me to make haste. Refrain from meddling with God, who is with me, lest He destroy you."
22 Nevertheless Josiah would not turn his face from him, but disguised himself so that he might fight with him, and did not heed the words of Necho from the mouth of God. So he came to fight in the Valley of Megiddo.
23 And the archers shot King Josiah; and the king said to his servants, "Take me away, for I am severely wounded."
24 His servants therefore took him out of that chariot and put him in the second chariot that he had, and they brought him to Jerusalem. So he died, and was buried in one of the tombs of his fathers. And all Judah and Jerusalem mourned for Josiah.
Take note that this event was not the judgment of God. God promised that He would withhold judgment and leave Israel in peace until after the time of Josiah. God did not promise to protect Josiah if he acted foolishly. Josiah was clearly warned that he was meddling with God and would be destroyed if he did not turn back. When we look at the promises of God we must always keep in mind that all of His promises are fulfilled when we are walking within His will. People often want to be ‘Precious Promises Christians’. They want to read the promises of God and claim them but are not willing to walk within God’s will. Often they act contrary to God and interfere with others who are obeying the word of the Lord. If you fight against God, you will lose. However, if we are following God, we have the promises of God as our hope, guide and refuge.
Nothing can harm us against God’s will
One of the clear teachings of scripture is that if we are in Christ, nothing can harm us outside of God’s design. That does not mean that we can’t be harmed or won’t suffer, but we do know that “The Lord is your keeper and does not slumber or sleep; the LORD shall preserve you from all evil” (Psalm 121). God is never taken by surprise and He knew what problems would arise in your life before you were born. This is what gives us faith and confidence in our circumstances. We know that God has a plan for our lives – in fact, God planned every step you would take and every breath you would take before you were formed in the womb. Satan’s desire to destroy you is nothing to God. According to the Bible in the book of Job, Satan needs permission from God before he can tempt or harm you.
God is the authority over all creation and all that is within creation. His will shall stand and nothing in heaven or earth can withstand Him. This is why we have the promise that the gates of hell cannot stand against the church. Look at Psalm 34:
6 This poor man cried out, and the LORD heard him, And saved him out of all his troubles.
7 The angel of the LORD encamps all around those who fear Him, And delivers them.
8 Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good; Blessed is the man who trusts in Him!
9 Oh, fear the LORD, you His saints! There is no want to those who fear Him.
10 The young lions lack and suffer hunger; But those who seek the LORD shall not lack any good thing.
11 Come, you children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the LORD.
12 Who is the man who desires life, And loves many days, that he may see good?
13 Keep your tongue from evil, And your lips from speaking deceit.
14 Depart from evil and do good; Seek peace and pursue it.
15 The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, And His ears are open to their cry.
If the angel of the Lord encamps around you, what harm can come against you unless God permits it? It will only take one angel to overthrow Satan when his time comes to an end (Revelation 20). God is able to preserve those who are His own. When Jezebel and King Ahab commanded everyone to worship Baal or be condemned, God said that He preserved 7,000 men who have never bowed to this idol. When David was anointed king, King Saul hunted relentlessly to kill him and David journeyed into the enemies of Israel, yet the Bible says that the Lord preserved David wherever he went.
God preserves the lives of His people. Without His permission it is impossible for anyone to harm a child of God. Look at Matthew 10:
28 "And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
29 "Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will.
30 "But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.
31 "Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.
We do not realize just how much control God has in this life. If a sparrow cannot die apart from God’s will, can we be touched if it is not within God’s will? The Bible says, no. You are more valuable than sparrows; therefore you know that God preserves you as well. Does this mean you will not suffer and will never be harmed? No it does not. Look at 1 Peter 3:
12 For the eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, And His ears are open to their prayers; But the face of the LORD is against those who do evil."
13 And who is he who will harm you if you become followers of what is good?
14 But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you are blessed. "And do not be afraid of their threats, nor be troubled."
15 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear;
16 having a good conscience, that when they defame you as evildoers, those who revile your good conduct in Christ may be ashamed.
17 For it is better, if it is the will of God, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil.
This passage begins by quoting from the same Psalm we just read, and then scripture explains it further. Who is he who will harm you if you follow what is good? The only good is God’s perfect will. Then scripture makes it clear that God may allow us to suffer. Jesus taught that if He suffered and was called an evil man, we can expect the same because the servant is not greater than the master. Even so, we can boldly follow God even in peril because we know that the only harm we can suffer is what God allows. He has also promised that we will never be asked to endure more than we are able to bear. One thing that is sure is that the man or woman of God cannot be stopped from doing the will of God. The world may encamp around us or may raise barriers to stop us, but if we walk by faith we know that God is able to overcome any obstacle.
The enemies of God tried to kill the apostle Paul for many, many years. He freely went about preaching without any way of defending himself. God revealed the plots of those who sought to destroy Paul, preserved his life and even used Paul’s enemies to give him the opportunity to preach to rulers. Paul was stoned and left for dead, and he arose and began to preach again. Forty men also took an oath not to eat or drink until they killed Paul. For all we know, they died in their oath for they never touched Paul. When in prison, they conspired to draw him out for questioning so they could attack him, but the plot was overheard by a child and they were foiled. When traveling as a prisoner, a severe storm destroyed the ship, but he survived to get to shore and continue in his mission. He was snake bitten, but did not die. Satan did everything within his power to kill Paul because he knew God’s purpose. In spite of this, God used Paul to spread the gospel across the Roman Empire and then to the world. All the schemes in the world were meaningless because God preserved him for God’s own purposes. In the end Paul stated, “I have finished the race”. Shortly afterward, Paul was killed by Nero in Rome.
The same is true in every believer’s life. Until you have finished the race, there is not any power in heaven or earth that can take you out of this life or out of God’s plan. Of course we do not always know when we have finished the race, but God does. Our confidence is that God is able to preserve us so that we can complete our calling in this life. If you are following Him, your calling should be the most important thing in your life. When we are in God’s will, we have confidence and have nothing to fear.
Fear Not
John 14:
27 "Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
If you are in Christ, the peace of God has been given to you. Philippians 4 explains further:
6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;
7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
In both of these passages we are told that we are given the peace of God. Even though the world around us may be in turmoil and everything may seem out of control, we rest in the peace of God. Human understanding cannot grasp the reason for this peace. When a believer truly trusts God and has faith in His plan for their life, peace will follow even if circumstances are everything but peaceful. This does not mean that human nature will disappear. It does mean that all of life’s events will be looked at through the love of God for our lives. The world and Christians who do not walk by faith will do just the opposite – they will measure the love of God based on events that go for or against selfish desires. In both of these passages we are commanded not to be anxious and not to allow our hearts to be troubled. When events or circumstances threaten our security, we will always have feelings of fear, but we have been given the power to overcome the world by our faith in God (1 John 5:4). When fear wells up within us, we have the choice to shift our trust to God and believe in His plan, or shift our focus on the world and try in vain to make everything work within our own plan. Our flesh desires the world but our spirit is born in faith. Faith is spiritual, fear is carnal. Our human fleshly nature will war against the Spirit of God within us until this life is over. Therefore we have to make the willful choice to trust in God over our flesh. Our problems will not disappear, but our perspective will change and we will overcome human fear by faith in God. Fear is not a sin unless we allow it to drive our lives contrary to God’s will. If God is in control, we know that our life is in His hands.
This struggle is especially apparent in today’s climate of terrorism and warfare. The strength of terrorism is fear. Everything Satan uses is based on disbelief and fear. People are afraid of failure so they never step out in obedience to God. People don’t believe that God is their Rewarder; therefore we are willing to sin to fulfill our lusts. Wicked men use fear to manipulate others into submission, but God has called us into boldness knowing that God is greater than our enemies. We know that we don’t have to fear those who can destroy our bodies. God is the only one to be feared. He is able to preserve our bodies and His judgment is more to be feared than anything this life can throw our way.
Jesus warned that this time in which we live would come. He said, “The time is coming that whoever kills you will think that he offers God service”. Islamic terrorists fit this warning exactly. They are filled with wickedness and claim that their god allows them to do evil to others as long as they are fulfilling a purpose. It is OK to rape, lie, steal, murder and do all kinds of wickedness as long as they keep a handful of rules. They believe that God is going to reward them for murdering innocent people. Revelation 21 says that murderers, liars and sexually immoral people will never enter into heaven but will be judged in the lake of fire. They destroy thousands of lives and believe they are doing God a service – just as scripture foretold.
We frequently hear about terrorist threatening to use chemical, biological and nuclear weapons against us. Recently a man was wrapping his house in plastic out of fear of a chemical attack. While those without God are suffocating in fear, we should be lights in the culture and demonstrate confidence in God. The Bible gives a fitting promise that explained wonderfully in Psalm 91:
1 He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say of the LORD, "He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust."
3 Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler And from the perilous pestilence.
4 He shall cover you with His feathers, And under His wings you shall take refuge; His truth shall be your shield and buckler.
5 You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, Nor of the arrow that flies by day,
6 Nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness, Nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday.
7 A thousand may fall at your side, And ten thousand at your right hand; But it shall not come near you.
8 Only with your eyes shall you look, And see the reward of the wicked.
9 Because you have made the LORD, who is my refuge, Even the Most High, your dwelling place,
10 No evil shall befall you, Nor shall any plague come near your dwelling;
11 For He shall give His angels charge over you, To keep you in all your ways.
12 In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone.
13 You shall tread upon the lion and the cobra, The young lion and the serpent you shall trample underfoot.
14 "Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him on high, because he has known My name.
15 He shall 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 I will satisfy him, And show him My salvation."
To the person who is walking in the will of God and fulfilling His purpose, anthrax can be spread abroad and 1,000 can fall to your side and 10,000 at your right hand, but it will not come near you. If small pox is released, we will not be afraid of the pestilence that stalks in the darkness. We won’t be afraid of the arrow that flies by day or the terror by night. We don’t need to be anxious about a nuclear attack because we don’t need to fear the destruction at noonday. As a Christian, you have a secret place – the shelter of the Almighty. If you are walking in an abiding relationship with Jesus Christ, you are walking under the shadow of the Almighty. God covers us like a hen protects her chicks with her feathers. Your faith in God is the shelter of your tent. God is our refuge and strength. If we are in Him, there is nothing that can make us afraid. The Bible makes it clear that no weapon formed against God shall prosper.
Does this mean that the person walking with God will never be harmed? No, but it does mean that if you are walking according to His will nothing can harm you outside of His permission. We don’t know if God will allow us to suffer or die for our faith. Obviously we can only see life from our small perspective, but He can see the big picture and the complete perspective of His plan. At the time, it did not make sense that all of the apostles were martyred (except John). In our immediate lives, it may not make sense when God allows us to suffer or even die. However, we have the absolute confidence that suffering can only come for His purposes and harm can only come within His will. In light of eternity, there can be no harm to the follower of Christ.
When the disciples were in the boat with Jesus, He was asleep while they were fighting to keep the boat afloat during a storm. Finally one of the disciples woke Jesus and said asked if He cared that they were all going to die? He rebuked the storm and scolded them for their lack of faith. Their failure was not waking up Jesus or asking for Him to intervene. Their lack of faith was expressed by their claims that they were going to die in the storm. Until they either fulfilled or rejected their calling, they could not die. We can enter into any storm with confidence because we know that we will finish the race. Every apostle finished their race and each one of us will finish the race unless we reject God’s call. No terrorist or enemy of God can prevent us from running and completing the race God has set before us.
Psalm 40:
8 I delight to do Your will, O my God, And Your law is within my heart."
9 I have proclaimed the good news of righteousness In the great assembly; Indeed, I do not restrain my lips, O LORD, You Yourself know.
10 I have not hidden Your righteousness within my heart; I have declared Your faithfulness and Your salvation; I have not concealed Your lovingkindness and Your truth From the great assembly.
Are you delighting to do His will? Do you have confidence that you are running the race God has set before you? If you cannot have confidence in God, this is the day to submit your life to Him. All who run the race run to win. Those who fail to pursue God’s purpose lack confidence in God when times are hard and will not have faith in His promises. 1 John 5:
4 For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world -- our faith.
5 Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?
