Week 11 - Protected by God

Some of you may still be confused about titles of blog posts that begin with "Week", but there is a book by Nancy Guthrie titled The One Year Book of Hope, which I have been slowly reading through. Some readers have joined with me and post comments while others follow along silently. This book is not for those who have lost a child specifically, but it is for anyone who has suffered. At the top of my blog there is a button that says "One Year of Hope", and it will direct you to all of my journaling on the book. Join us late if you like, so that you too can see the hope in Christ.

This chapter came in the midst of a lot of things happening, and it was kind of hard to swallow. Many of you may have more to say about feeling protected by God, and please, speak up through commenting so that other readers may benefit through your story. For me, it was a reminder that I have not been forsaken.

Psalms 91

91:1 He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High

will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.

2 I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress,

my God, in whom I trust.”

3 For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler

and from the deadly pestilence.

4 He will cover you with his pinions,

and under his wings you will find refuge;

his faithfulness is a shield and buckler.

5 You will not fear the terror of the night,

nor the arrow that flies by day,

6 nor the pestilence that stalks in darkness,

nor the destruction that wastes at noonday.

7 A thousand may fall at your side,

ten thousand at your right hand,

but it will not come near you.

8 You will only look with your eyes

and see the recompense of the wicked.

9 Because you have made the Lord your dwelling place—

the Most High, who is my refuge—

10 no evil shall be allowed to befall you,

no plague come near your tent.

11 For he will command his angels concerning you

to guard you in all your ways.

12 On their hands they will bear you up,

lest you strike your foot against a stone.

13 You will tread on the lion and the adder;

the young lion and the serpent you will trample underfoot.

14 “Because he holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him;

I will protect him, because he knows my name.

15 When he calls to me, I will answer him;

I will be with him in trouble;

I will rescue him and honor him.

16 With long life I will satisfy him

and show him my salvation.”

When I read this chapter, I wrote down how hard it is to swallow this Psalms. Because at the lowest point of my suffering I wanted to know why He had allowed this and why He didn't protect our family. But God was protecting our family and he still is. I just didn't have a good concept of what this protection means. Although He may for some of us, He is not promising to protect us of the things of this world. Those are only temporary. Think of how quickly time passes by. I know that it feels much more obvious now that I am watching Walt grow up, but I have noticed that the older I get, the quicker it seems to go. This world is such a short period of time. God is most concerned with our souls, and that is what is protects. Satan is on constant attack trying to find your weaknesses, but God is there to protect our soul so that for the rest of eternity we can be with him and praise Him.

This chapter is full of beautiful scripture that reminds us that sin is what fills this world and causes pain, but soon the pain and suffering of this world will end. But that isn't the end of the story. Either your soul will live forever in heaven with God or hell. My hope lies in Christ who suffered in this world also.