In July 2021, riots sparked by the imprisonment of former president Jacob Zuma swept across South Africa. There was widespread violence
from Kwazulu-Natal to Gauteng. Many businesses were looted and many lives were lost as a result.
The riots remind us of how quickly situations can turn around in life. It may look like we have our security under control with the police, army, neighborhood security, and even private security, but ultimately, our protection is in God’s hands.
“If you say, ‘The Lord is my refuge,’ and you make the Most High your dwelling, no harm will overtake you, no disaster will come near your tent. For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways.”
– Psalm 91:9-11
Psalm 91:1-2
“Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, ‘He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.'”
You see, the arms of flesh can fail, but God can never fail (Jeremiah 17:5). No matter how advanced a security system is, it isn’t fool proof. Anything can suddenly go wrong, but anyone who is covered under the wings of the Most High is assured of divine protection.
God protected Noah during the flood
The story of Noah and the flood teaches us about judgment, grace, and divine protection. Genesis 7:13-16 tells us how God protected Noah, his entire household, and every animal on earth in the ark while the entire world flooded.
“On that very day Noah and his sons, Shem, Ham and Japheth, together with his wife and the wives of his three sons, entered the ark. They had with them every wild animal according to its kind, all livestock according to their kinds, every creature that moves along the ground according
to its kind and every bird according to its kind, everything with wings. Pairs of all creatures that have the breath of life in them came to Noah and entered the ark.The animals going in were male and female of every living thing, as God had commanded Noah.Then the Lord shut him in.”
Notice the last sentence in the passage: “Then the Lord shut him in.” In other words, it wasn’t the ark that protected Noah and his family, it was God.
You can have burglar alarms, the tallest fence in the neighborhood, bodyguards, and whatnot, but if God doesn’t “shut you in,” you’re not really protected. He is the only one you can always rely on to have your back anytime and anywhere.
So do not worry about the terror of the night or the arrow that flies by day. The Lord God is your refuge and your fortress (Psalm 91:2). You and your household are covered under His wings.
God protected the Israelites from Egypt to Canaan
Another Biblical character we can learn about God’s protection from is Moses. He was born at a time when the Israelites were slaves in Egypt. Fearing the slaves would become too powerful and one day revolt against him, Pharaoh gave a decree that all the Israelites’ new born males must
be killed.
God had big plans for Moses. He was to lead His people out of Egypt into Canaan. But when Moses was a baby, he was among the newborns Pharoah wanted dead. Instead, Moses’ mother put him in a basket on the Nile River and the current carried him right into the arms of Pharaoh’s daughter, who eventually raised him.
God will never abandon those He has given a purpose. He will protect and guide you, and whatever plans the enemy has made against you will never come to pass. He will put confusion in their camps. He will go before you to make every crooked path straight.
The last plague God sent to Egypt before the Israelites were allowed to leave was the death of the Egyptians’ firstborn sons. God sent the Angel of Death upon the land, but the Israelites were spared because they rubbed the blood of lambs on their doorposts and lintels to signify they were
God’s people.
When you have Jesus in your heart and you plead His blood on your doorpost you will live in divine protection. He will assign angels to you. Our God will never leave His children vulnerable. He cares for us and is continually watching over us.
“If you say, ‘The Lord is my refuge,’ and you make the Most High your dwelling, no harm will overtake you, no disaster will come near your tent. For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways.” – Psalm 91:9-11
Conclusion
We will always need the protection of God. Life is full of perils, and we never really know what’s lurking around each turn. But as Christians, we aren’t walking blindly. We serve the all-powerful, all-knowing God. We may not know what tomorrow holds but we know who holds tomorrow.
He will give His angels charge over you. When you are weak, they will give you strength, and when you are lost, they will show you the way. We are sons and daughters of God, and we function under the full assurance of His protection.
“Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, ‘He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.'”- Psalm 91:1-2
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