Skip to main content

More than Adequate Protection

There have been many times in my life when I have turned to Psalm 27; it just has it all. David talks about trusting the Lord in a very intimate way even through some very tough situations. The psalmist is honest about his feelings and speaks of dread and fear. As he usually does, David reminds himself of Who God had been in his life and asks God to "not abandon or forsake" him. He also takes the time to ask God to teach him, lead him and protect him.

One of the verses that sticks out to me today particularly is verse 5. Here David says: in the day of trouble He will conceal me in His tabernacle; in the secret place of His tent He will hide me... Not just any day - but the day of trouble - God will hide us. And not hide us just anywhere - He hides us in His tabernacle; and in the secret place of His tent. To me this speaks of intimacy. God doesn't just drop us in a cave somewhere and put His hand over the entrance so the enemy can't find us. Even though that would provide adequate protection, He hides us in His secret place. He hides us in His heart - where life cannot touch us or destroy us.

Perhaps with this intimacy in mind David penned the final verse to this psalm. The first 13 verses seem to be written in  third person. David is speaking about his own personal experience. He's crying out for the Lord to hear him, rejoicing in the Lord's victory and asking God to teach him, lead him, and protect him. But in the final verse it's as if he turns to address the rest of the world and he gives more of a command. Maybe he had no idea of the multitude who would read this passage and find hope when he addresses the reader directly by saying:

Wait for the Lord;
Be strong and let your heart take courage;
Yes, wait for the Lord.

He changes from first and third person to second person and reminds us all to wait for the Lord. The old King James Version translated it this way: Wait on the Lord; be of good courage and He shall strengthen your heart. "Let your heart take courage" and "He will strengthen your heart" both indicate to me that we must yield to Him and wait for Him and allow Him to strengthen us and encourage us.  Waiting on Him means we let Him do the work while we rest in His faithfulness.

Today I will meditate on His faithfulness and His protection. I will purposefully move out of the way and allow Him to provide intimate protection. I will trust Him for one more day. Will you join me?

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Ups and Downs

  Maybe it's just "that time of year" for me, but I've struggled a lot the last few weeks. I still affectionately  call it the caregiver's fog. Lol. Okay, maybe it's not-so-affectionately. I know I can share my true feelings with you guys because you get it. You understand the day-to-day grind of caregiving. The military has a saying about there being no easy day. I think we live in that reality. It's just not easy caring for another whole person, is it? Caregiving presents many difficulties. We can find ourselves alone, so very alone on this journey. It doesn't just go away. We don't just work through it. It seems to go on and on. There are lots of ups and downs - and that can be about every 90 seconds some days. Right? (smile!) As I've been working through this emotional maze the last few days, I turned my thoughts to Daniel. Let's take a realistic look at his circumstances because as we read his story in the Bible, we tend to glamorize i

The Practical Side of Caregiving

 This week, I've been reading the book of Acts. I am enjoying the journey of the early church. Can you imagine what it would be like if your church saw 5000 people saved in a day? Mass chaos would ensue as leadership tried to figure out how to serve that many people! It'd be great and difficult at the same time - kind of like caregiving. Lol. But yesterday, I got stuck in Acts 9 thinking about a practical caregiving issue. In verse 32, we read that Peter was traveling around and encouraging all the new believers. He came to the town of Lydda. Verse 33 says in the NLT, There he (Peter) met a man named Aeneas, who had been paralyzed and bedridden for eight years. Now, the next verses talk about how Peter proclaimed healing, and the man just got up! That's so amazing. But my brain got stuck on some of the practical parts. Aeneas was paralyzed and bedridden. My mind compared the situation to my son, of course, even though he's not "paralyzed." I started wondering

Seasons Are Temporary

  This morning, I found myself reading in Isaiah 28. I ended up there because I was looking for something in particular, and even though I didn't find what I was looking for, I found what I needed. God's so cool like that, isn't He? My eyes first fell on verse 29, which says in the NKJ: This also comes from the Lord of hosts, Who is wonderful in counsel and excellent in guidance. I rolled that over in my mind and heart a few times and spent a few minutes thinking about how I'd seen His counsel in action in my own life. We've all had those times when we weren't sure what to do or where to go, and suddenly, an idea drops into our thoughts. There are many ways He provides direction for us. He may direct our steps through a passage of scripture, a trusted spiritual leader such as a pastor, a YouTube teacher, and maybe even a lowly blog writer. Lol. No matter how He chooses to deliver His counsel, it comes - but we must listen. After I had rolled these thoughts and t