Have you ever driven down the road, you come to a sudden stop, and then your right arm automatically flings to the right to protect the person in the passenger seat? I have many times, even when there wasn’t anyone in the seat. It occurred as a spontaneous effect. You were shielding that person from any danger.
This morning, after I had read the bible, gotten everyone fed and sent to school, and cleaned the kitchen, I crawled back in bed for a fifteen minutes of quietness before I had to get myself off to work. (Two weeks of staying up late and sleeping in had come to an end.) The sun was shining through the window so I hid my eyes under the sheet to shield them from the light.
Shield: No matter how you look up the definition to the word shield, you will discover that the common theme is that it means “protection”.
Twice in today’s scripture reading the word shield appeared.
- Psalms 5:12, “Lord, when you bless good people, you surround them with your love, like a large shield that protects them.”
- Genesis 15:1b, “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward.”
In both of the instances today, God is the shield. God is our Protector.
While on the website biblegateway.com, I typed in the word shield. The search displayed that the word shield appears approximately 121 times throughout the bible. The last scripture listed was from 1 Peter 1:3-6. It reads, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, 5 who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.” I don’t know about you, but those verses excited me and gave me comfort knowing that I am shielded (protected) by God’s power and that He has great things in store for me.
Now, glance back at the verses from today’s scripture reading. Notice how God is giving you a big hug of love? He surrounds you with His love. Ahhhhh. Then, in Genesis, when we may have times of doubt or fear, God protects us. Not only does He protect us, but the reward in the end will be grand. He is pretty grand! Just like in the 1 Peter verses, there is protection with benefits.
Prayer: “Lord, thank You for being my Protector. You have shielded me from instances in my life that I am aware of and probably numerous times that I have no clue about. Thanks for reminding me that Your shield isn’t just for a part of me, but You surround me, all of me. I love You, Lord.”
Don’t worry. God’s got you covered.
Blessings to you.
| January 7 |
