“He permitted no man to do them wrong.” 1 Chronicles 16:21 NKJV
“Even though near to danger, you will be kept far from harm.”
My thoughts today are about being “safe and secure.”
The world can be a frightening place, and listening to the evening news, that seems to become more true all the time. The problem is sin. Sin breeds selfishness and greed, anger and violence. The heart that God first made as pure becomes polluted with the hardened humanity of a broken world. In a couple of generations, we have gone from the relative safety of small rural towns where everyone was your neighbor and your front door was rarely locked to teeming cities where the crowded congestion of too many lives numbs people from knowing one another or caring about them, let alone caring for them.
First our cities were not safe, and then our streets became unsafe, until our neighborhoods and now too many homes are less safe for the weakest and smallest. It seems that grab and take has replaced give and share. Preying on others has replaced protecting one another. People soon learn that they need protection; people long to recover a sense of safety. I am not sure that you find the safety for which the soul seeks anywhere, except in God.
Today’s verse is, “He permitted no man to do them wrong. Yes, He rebuked kings for their sakes. Saying, ‘Touch not my anointed ones, and do My prophets no harm.‘” 1 Chronicles 16:21-22. David is recounting the covenant history of Israel. He would have recalled the stories passed from father to son of God’s protection of Abraham in his excursions into Egypt (Genesis 12), or His hand upon every circumstance of innocent Joseph while in Egypt’s prison (Genesis 39/40), or Moses living in Pharoah’s household and court (Exodus 2/Hebrews 11), or Daniel protected in a lion’s den, (Daniel 6), and countless other seasons of Israel’s national life. Read Hebrews 11:32-40.
The principle is simple and it is this: you will protect what has worth and value. Don’t you think that God feels that same way about you? God gave His only Son to die in your place because He counted you worth His greatest sacrifice (John 3:16). The love that God extends to you establishes your worth and value both now and eternally. As a redeemed child of God, you are loved therefore valued, and therefore you are protected.
“Whoever listens to me will live in safety and be at ease, without fear of harm . . then you will go on your way in safety, and your foot will not stumble; when you lie down, you will not be afraid; when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.” Proverbs 1:33/3:23-24 NIV.
“You are my hiding place; You will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance.” Psalm 32:6-7 NIV.
“I will both lie down in peace and sleep; for You alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.” Psalm 4:8.
My prayer for you today is to rest safely in the protective care of your loving Father.