God Protects Us

Introduction

One bright little boy learned how to work his parents. Every time his mom tried to discipline him he'd start yelling, "I want Daddy!" Then when it was his father's turn to reprimand him, he'd yell, 'I want Mommy!' One day when he was in serious trouble with both of them, he screamed, 'I want Jesus!'"

Well, many people are like that. When we're in serious trouble, we want God's protection. Once when Elisha and his servant faced a crises, the prophet made a significant statement. He said, "'Don't be afraid . . . those who are with us are more than those who are with them.' Then he added,' O Lord, open his eyes so he may see.'" (2 Kings 6:16-17a).

That's something we have to do. We must "open our eyes" to see our assets, to evaluate our resources and to develop our confidence. The Psalmist said, "May the Lord answer you when you are in distress." (Psalm 20:1).

Later he said, "The Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore" (Psalm 121:8).

"O Lord, you will keep us safe and protect us." (Psalm 12:7b).

Now, God does protect us, but he doesn't do our job for us. That would be non-productive. A woman took a parenting course which included discussions of misbehavior, communication and self-esteem. She said, "I agreed with all the instructions until the teacher said, 'Don't do for your children what they can do for themselves.'

'I can't go along with that,' I blurted out. 'I often tie my girls' shoes or button their coats, or feed their pets. It only tells them I love them.'

'Of course you love them,' the teacher explained, 'but doing too many things for children can cause them to feel helpless. It can rob them of the joy and satisfaction of doing for themselves. It also sets up destructive patterns of always expecting someone to bail them out. In essence, if you do it for them, that implies, "You can't do this"; You're not capable"; and such a message is a growth inhibitor.'"

God doesn't want to inhibit our growth. So, how does God protect us without inhibiting our growth?

I. FIRST, GOD SHARES HIS POWER WITH US.

The early Hebrews believed in God's power. The Psalmist said, "Proclaim the power of God, whose majesty is over Israel." (Psalm 68:34).

Moses said, "Do not be terrified by them, for the Lord your God, who is among you, is a great . . . God" (Deut. 7:21)

The Psalmist says, "The God of Israel gives power and strength to his people." (Psalm 68:35).

Of course, God is omnipotent, and he wants to share His power with us; but power can be misused. Once a lady gave her grandchildren a small incubator and two fertilized eggs from the local hatchery. The children devoted themselves to those eggs, turning them every few hours, checking the temperature, and counting the days. It was a thrilling moment when they began to hear pecking sounds from inside the shells! But when hatching day arrived, the chicks had not yet made any cracks in their shells. The children were impatient and called the hatchery. "Should we help the chicks out a little by breaking through from the outside?"

"Absolutely not," replied the man. "Hatching has to happen from the inside out. If you try to do it for them, the chicks won't be strong enough to live. The best thing you can do is to just keep them warm."

That's true of people too. God provides a power source, but each of us must learn how to utilize it.

A carpenter said, "In my workshop I have a drill, a saw, and a grinder. All three are plugged into the same power source, but that electricity doesn't drill or saw or grind. Instead, it gives each particular tool the ability to do the job it was meant to do."

That's how God shares His power with us.

II. NEXT, GOD SHARES HIS WISDOM WITH US.

James said, "If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him." (James 1:5).

This is one of the ways God protects us. He guides our intellect to make the right decisions. But to receive this guidance we must be tuned in. A ranger was leading a group of hikers in Yellowstone National Park. He was so intent on telling the hikers about the flowers and animals that he considered the messages on his two-way radio distracting, so he switched it off. Nearing their destination, the ranger was met by an excited scout who asked him why he hadn't responded to the radio messages. A grizzly bear had been seen stalking the group and the authorities were trying to warn them of the danger. But he wasn't tuned in.

We must be tuned in to God's guidance. Also, we must understand that guidance. The Psalmist said, "The Lord upholds (us) with his hand" (Psalm 37:24).

God does uphold us, but we often misunderstand how He works. A mountain climber got stuck on a steep cliff and couldn't get down. At first he panicked. It would soon be getting dark and he couldn't remember exactly how he had reached that particular place. No one knew where he was, and therefore no one would come searching.

As he prayed in his distress, he wasn't sure what he expected God to do. Maybe a rescue helicopter would miraculously appear, or perhaps a party of climbers with ropes and pitons would suddenly arrive. Instead, what he saw, was a faint trail off to one side, zigzagging down the mountain. He moved toward the spot and found that it was a deer trail, almost indiscernible and still precarious. But by slowly picking his way down that trail, he arrived safely in the valley below. He concluded, "You know, I've learned that when you pray, you also have to look for and recognize the solutions God provides. According to legend when a certain man prayed for money to avoid a business failure, an angel asked God what he should do. God replied, "We don't have money in heaven. We only have treasures that moth and rust do not destroy and thieves cannot steal." We don't have cash or bank accounts, but we do have insights and inspiring ideas. Give him those."

And that's exactly what God does. That's how God shares His wisdom with us!

III. FINALLY, GOD SHARES HIS LOVE WITH US.

God's greatest gift is His love. In the Old Testament, Nehemiah prayed, "O Lord, God of heaven, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with those who love him and obey his commands" (Neh. 1:5).

Paul said, "Hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Rom. 5:5,8).

Jesus used the relationship between a mother hen and her babies to illustrate His own love and concern for us. He said, "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!" (Matt. 23:37, kjv).

There are really three times when the mother hen calls her babies. One occasion is when she finds a bit of food -a crumb, or a bug. Jesus said, "He that cometh to me shall never hunger, he that believeth on me shall never thirst" (John 6: 35)

Another occasion is when the experienced old mother hen sees an ominous black speck in the sky which circles around and around getting larger and larger. She now utters a very excited cry and calls her babies together under her wing so she can protect them from the menacing hawk. The Psalmist said, "He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart" (Psalm 91:4).

On another occasion is when she hears the thunder, sees the lightning and feels the cold wind blowing. Quickly she calls her babies to the shelter of her wings so she can protect them from the impending storm. The Psalmist said, "I would hurry to my place of shelter, far from the tempest and storm" (Psa. 55:8).

That's how God shares His love with us!

So, God protects us, but quite often we resent His protection. We resent it because one element of His protection includes prohibitions and restraints. We must realize that the Commandments are not given to spoil our fun. God doesn't say, "Thou shalt not" because he wants to make us miserable. Like a parent, he disciplines us for our own good. The child who is denied the right to do drugs or drive drunk or drop out of school may resent the restrictions, but he is actually being protected.

Solomon said, "My son, do not reject the discipline of the Lord, Or loathe His reproof, for whom the Lord loves He reproves, Even as a father, the son in whom he delights" (Proverbs 3:11-12).

The Psalmist said, "Blessed is the man you discipline . . ." (Psalm 94:12).

Once a tourist, riding through the desert in Egypt, commented to his guide, "I haven't seen a fence for miles. Do they build fences over here?"

The guide replied, "What for? There's nothing worth building a fence around out here."

Well, God thinks we're worth a lot, so He builds a fence around us. He does it because He loves us. He says, "You are valuable, so I'm surrounding you with a fence for your protection."

God shares His power-we have the strength in emergencies to overcome obstacles and do what we have to do. God shares His wisdom-we can use our intuition and intellect to make good decisions.

God shares His love-we can believe that He cares and trust Him enough to avoid destructive anxiety.

An old story describes a train that was caught in a terrible storm. All the passengers were afraid as they saw the lightening and heard the thunder. But, one little boy seemed to be totally undisturbed as he played with his toys. After a while, a nervous passenger said, "You seem to be all alone on this train. Aren't you afraid to travel in such a storm?" The child looked up and answered, "No, sir, I'm not at all afraid, because my father is the conductor of this train."

It's the same with us. God has established this universe to operate by principles which we can trust to benefit all mankind. And God will never change those principles. That's why David said, "Be strong and courageous . . . Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord God . . . is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you . . ." (1 Chronicles 28:20)