The dangers we face actually go beyond those reported to us in the news. Paul warns that attacks will come against us from sources that seem less dangerous but are just as debilitating. He says:
“For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!” (2 Timothy 3:2-5 NKJV).
Paul points out that there are people who will make these times perilous by their ungodly and twisted ways. For instance, an attack might come through a trusted friend or loved one who strikes out at us in anger or with false accusations and cuts us to the core.
First John 5:18 gives us a powerful promise for these perilous times: “The God-begotten are also the God-protected. The Evil One can’t lay a hand on them” (Message).
We are God-protected! He has taken us under His own personal care to protect us from the attacks that have been designed against us. And if attacks do come, God has promised that they will not harm us. The enemy cannot lay a hand on us!
We must keep that in mind the next time we hear a bad report that tries to strike fear in us. We are protected by God Himself. He will protect us from every attack, whether it comes from the outside or from the inside. We are in His care.
King David experienced this divine protection time after time and in many different ways. In Psalm 121, David gives a powerful picture of God’s commitment to protect and guard His family. “I will lift up my eyes to the hills—from whence comes my help? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth” (Psalm 121:1,2 NKJV).
The hills and mountains surrounding Jerusalem do not protect the city; rather, the God of the city is the One who protects. In the same way, our help does not come from our natural surroundings, but from the One who continually surrounds us with His love and power.
The remainder of this psalm centers around a word that describes God’s protection. This same word is translated two different ways: keep and preserve.
“He will not allow your foot to be moved; He who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, He who keeps Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade at your right hand. The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night” (vv. 3-6 NKJV).
“The Lord shall preserve you from all evil; He shall preserve your soul. The Lord shall preserve your going out and your coming in from this time forth, and even forevermore” (vv. 7-8 NKJV).
Six times we are told that God will “keep” or “preserve” us. This word describes a guard or a hedge that is built around something. It is also used in Genesis 2:15, where it says God put man in the Garden of Eden to dress and to keep it. God has charged mankind with the responsibility of guarding and protecting our garden from intrusion. We do that by proclaiming His Word over our lives.
