God is my Shield!

August 17, 2010

Every day I hear about the horrible news around the world. It may be a murder or a robbery or a kidnapping. Even farther away, it could be the death of a soldier defending our freedom or the loss of an innocent child to AIDS. All of these atrocities make me wonder where someone can find protection.

The only true protection comes from the only true God. Today I have discovered yet another definition of my God.

God is my shield!

Someone who needed a shield many, many, many years ago was a man named David. David originally was a shepherd boy, but he grew up to be king. Now, why would a king need protection? After all, he had all the power. Well, David was actually running from his son, Absalom. Absalom was a prideful and arrogant man who schemed to take over his father’s throne and declare himself as king. Absalom gathered a following, and David had no choice but to flee from his vengeful son.

In the midst of all this turmoil, with his world upside down, David wrote the third Psalm. David rested in the fact that he knew God was his shield. He rested in the fact that God would bring him salvation and deliverance. He rested in God alone.

Psalm 3
O LORD, how many are my foes!
How many rise up against me!
Many are saying of me,
"God will not deliver him." 

But you are a shield around me, O LORD;
you bestow glory on me and lift up my head.
To the LORD I cry aloud,
and he answers me from his holy hill. 

I lie down and sleep;
I wake again, because the LORD sustains me.
I will not fear the tens of thousands
drawn up against me on every side.

Arise, O LORD!
Deliver me, O my God!
Strike all my enemies on the jaw;
break the teeth of the wicked.

From the LORD comes deliverance.
May your blessing be on your people. (NIV)

David declared God as “a shield around me.” David knew his protection came from the Lord. No one else could protect him from the dangers of the world encroaching upon him.

God is a shield around me. God protects me daily. Many days I believe God is protecting me from dangers I have no idea even exist. Sometimes, God’s protection completely takes me away from any danger or hurt or malice. Other times, God’s protection engulfs me in the midst of my worst trials and fears. God’s protection does not promise I will be trouble free. God’s protection promises His shield around me to help me through day by day no matter what I face.