Devotional: My God Is a Protector

Even when life seems ordinary to us in every way, the supernatural presence of God is with us. In good times and bad. We have all witnessed God’s supernatural protection in times of need; we have seen it in our own lives and in the lives of others.

The Lord’s protection is part of the common grace that He, in His sovereignty and power, offers to everyone, and all the more to those who trust in the purest manifestation of that grace: Christ, the Rock, the most precious refuge in times of trial and tribulation.

That our Lord is our refuge and protection is not news to Christians. Yet in the midst of the storm, we may doubt, flee against the current, and fail to throw ourselves into His arms to find safety. It is like having a fortress but keeping it merely as an ornament, a strong tower used to display my own strengths—like seeking refuge in our own hiding places, built with bricks of self-sufficiency and clay of unfaithfulness. God says: I am your protector; there is no other. You need only remain in Me. Trust in Me. David trusted in divine protection: “But you, Lord, surround me like a shield; you are my glory; you lift my head high!” (Psalm 3:3)

David praises God and acknowledges His protecting power. God is a shield who does not allow the enemy to bring him down amid his circumstances and afflictions. “You are my glory,” David sang with thanksgiving in a hymn of praise and acknowledgment of the Lord’s faithfulness, for He always comes to the aid of His children. Christ is our glory today, our strength, our timely help in tribulation. (Ps. 46:2 RV)

The prophet Nahum warned the people of Nineveh, reminding them of God’s mercies: “The Lord is good; He is a refuge in the day of distress, and a protector of those who trust in Him” (Nah. 1:7 NVI)

Yet we lack a sense of true crying out—the cry of the soul that groans for God’s supernatural intervention when we grow faint or when difficulties come into our lives and there seems to be no comfort. God always hears the prayer that calls upon His presence. David recognized his visible enemies, his pursuers (his son Absalom, King Saul), but he also recognized other adversaries in his life that gnawed at his conscience: the sin he had committed, pride. The former were real, visible, and desperate; the latter robbed him of peace, joy, and a sense of purpose in life. Is sin not a fearsome adversary in our Christian lives—our lack of faith, our failure to pray and to rest in God’s righteousness and mercies? The psalmist knows this and reminds us: “Know that the Lord honors the one who is faithful to Him; the Lord hears me when I call to Him” (Ps. 4:3).

In what or whom have you placed your trust? To whom do you cry out upon waking, asking for protection? Where have you placed your offering for sin? Did you know that your best offering for sin is the prayer that confesses it and cries out for restoration? And your sacrifice—to whom is it consecrated? Did you know that a spirit of sacrifice, consecrated to the one sovereign God, is the finest fragrance of a burnt offering that you can offer our Savior? David confessed his sin, trusted in God’s faithfulness, saw restoration in his life, and consecrated himself, body and soul, to the Lord; his sorrow turned to joy, to sacrifices of praise to the One who first looked upon his heart.

Jesus is here, close to us in our need. He is our protector. Many have experienced the anguish of walking with the Lord while a Saul runs close behind us. But God is just; He waits for us to call on Him. He is a personal God. His promise to protect us and be our refuge is greater and more powerful than all the armies of evil.

God bless you!